Disparem
by UltravioletPinkRanger
Summary: When a spell goes awry, Hermione gets stuck in two different future realities where she's living two completely different lives.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay how do I say it again?" Draco said for what seemed the billionth time.

"Mutarrrre- roll your r and emphasize the ay at the end- vesti," Hermione told him once again. They were in the library working on transfiguration, and at the moment Draco was struggling with saying the enchantment _Mutarevesti _properly in order to transform his blank piece of paper into a collared shirt.

Yes, Hermione Granger was indeed tutoring Draco Malfoy, and had been since the beginning of the school year. It was an assignment given to her by the headmistress herself. Unfortunately, Draco's unproductive sixth year and lack of presence during what would've been his seventh year had cost him to fall very behind. As a result he was forced to spend a couple of hours every day with the Gryffindor bookworm and catch up on past lessons, while still keeping up with his regular lessons. Luckily for him, he was usually a fast learner, except for what he was attempting to do at the present time.

"_Mutarevesti!" _he said once again, this time managing to somewhat mimic Hermione's pronunciation. It seemed it was good enough, for the sheet of paper that had been laying in front of him in an instant turned into a folded shirt, just like he wanted.

"You did it!" Hermione squealed happily, and Draco smirked back at her.

"Of course I did. Malfoys master everything eventually," he said.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him and then with a flick of her wrist changed the shirt back into its original state. "You're not a master until you can do it perfectly fifty times in a row," she retorted.

"Says who?"

"Says I, the tutor in this tutoring session," Hermione said, giving a smirk that rivaled Draco's. "Now you know the drill- do it again."

Draco groaned and began his fifty rounds of transfiguring the paper into a shirt, with Hermione changing it back each time he successfully did it.

As they did this, Hermione couldn't help but think about how things had changed between them over the past months. It was now the middle of March and somehow in between the start of the school year and then they had become friends.

It certainly hadn't started that way though.

When McGonagall told Hermione that she would be tutoring the Slytherin Prince she was not pleased or excited in the least, and neither was Draco. Sure they had put their prejudices behind them, but there was still the existing animosity from just merely being each other. But Hermione knew she'd feel guilty if the reason one of her fellow classmate's, regardless of who they were, failed to graduate was because she had refused to help them; Draco knew that without the best help possible, which could only be provided by Hermione, he wouldn't graduate from Hogwarts. So they both decided to put the past behind them and work together as amicably as possible.

It worked out better than they had expected. Right from the beginning they had decided to refrain from insulting and arguing with each other, and focus solely on the tutoring, but it wasn't long until they found themselves actually having decent conversations. They soon began acknowledging each other in the halls, instead of ignoring each other as they had done before.

Now, even after Draco was fully caught up on everything he needed to be, and technically didn't need Hermione any more, they still found themselves studying for a couple hours each day in the library. It was strange, but Hermione knew that if their daily sessions were to end, she would miss them. She'd miss him.

It was nice spending time with someone other than Harry and Ron, especially one that could keep up with her level of intellect. She found she could talk with Draco about almost anything, and it was great to vent to him about the two men in her life. He made her laugh a lot with his I-could-care-less snarkiness, and she was always in a better mood after studying with him.

The only thing putting a damper on their friendship was Ron. While Harry and Ginny had accepted that Hermione and Draco had some sort of friendly relationship, Ron hadn't. He still glared every time Draco passed by or said a word to Hermione. She really hoped he'd get passed his jealous boyfriend phase already, it was getting old.

It's not like Ron had anything to be worried about. She loved him, and she told him every day. There was nothing going on between her and Draco that should be getting his knickers in a twist.

There were times however when she wondered what her life would be like if she weren't with Ron. It was those times when she caught herself unconsciously staring at Draco. He really had changed from the person he was before, and she'd be the first one to contest anyone that said otherwise. After all she had spent enough time with him to know.

She knew that he had stopped believing in pureblood supremacy the moment he had been instructed to kill Dumbledore. She knew that he never wanted to take the Dark Mark. She knew that the only reason he did those things was to protect his mother, who he cared for most in the world. She knew that he wished he could've saved her from his Aunt and that he threw up right after she, Harry, and Ron had escaped and didn't leave his room for days.

He'd told her all of this within the first couple months, and in turn she'd opened up to him about life on the run with Harry and Ron and what she'd had to do to protect her parents. She told him about being a muggleborn in the wizarding world and how it hurt every time he jeered at her for it. He apologized and she forgave him, which had been surprisingly easy.

It was probably this sharing of personal information that brought them closer than they had ever expected to be.

Once that was all out of the way they moved onto less heavier subjects, like when Hermione first found out she was a witch, and Draco's one time venture into the muggle world. Hermione's adventures with Harry and Ron over the years, and Draco's with Blaise Zabini, his best friend, were always great topics. Hermione loved the way his eyes would light up when he talked about the times with his family before Voldemort became a main fixture in their lives.

God his eyes. They were like grey clouds, heavy with rain, and yet when he smiled there would be this shine to them, as if the sun was breaking through. And every time he smiled, his face would light up in a way she had never seen before in their seven years of knowing each other, and Hermione wished she had a camera to capture the moment, for it didn't seem like he smiled that often. It made her feel special that she was one of the few people that got to see him to do it, and was maybe even one of the reasons why.

"Granger?" he said. She also loved the way he said her surname. It made her tingle and go all warm inside.

_Wait a minute, _Hermione thought. _What am I thinking? Eyes that shine, a smile that lights up his face, and loving the way he calls me 'Granger'? If Ginny could hear this she would most definitely think… oh no._

Hermione had fallen in love with Draco Malfoy.

_This cannot be happening. You have Ron for goodness sakes! Why would you give him up? No, it's not possible. You do NOT have any feelings whatsoever for Draco Malfoy._

"Granger, are you okay?"

"Hmm?" Hermione said, blinking herself out of her thoughts. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I successfully turned this piece of paper into a shirt fifty times, I think it is fair to say that I am a master," he smirked.

"That you are," Hermione laughed shakily, her mind still reeling at her recent thoughts. It was then she realized that there was something in her hand, and it most definitely wasn't a quill. She looked down and saw Draco's hand wrapped comfortably around hers. She quickly drew it away, causing him to look at their hands too.

"Sorry," he said, reddening. "I hadn't even realized I'd done that."

"It's alright," Hermione blushed. "Just forget about it. Er, we still have about twenty minutes left, do you want to practice something else?"

"Okay," he replied, and Hermione began to flip to the next chapter of their textbook. "Granger?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," Hermione grinned, turning to grab something for Draco to transfigure from her satchel which was seated next to her. Unfortunately her elbow decided to come in contact with her book, knocking it off of the table. Sighing she bent over to get it at the same time Draco did.

"I got it," he said, but she was already down there with him. They avoided colliding heads, but what they couldn't avoid was them catching each other's eyes as they lifted their heads back up, their faces only an inch apart.

Before Hermione knew it Draco had pressed his lips to hers and she was being kissed. The moment they made contact her body went numb, and her heart leapt in her chest, after which it just seemed to stop beating completely. It was a still kiss, their lips not moving at all from their initial position, but it sent electricity through her body nonetheless.

Hermione wasn't sure how long it had lasted. It felt like hours, but it really couldn't have been more than a second. When they parted, they just stared at each other, silent with shock over what had just happened.

A second later and Draco had jumped out of his seat, fluidly placing the book back on the table and grabbing his pack. "I have to get to charms now," he said quickly before disappearing out of her sight.

Hermione could do nothing other than nod and sit there, wondering if it had been real or not. She was so taken aback she wasn't sure. Another good minute had passed before she realized that they had charms together.

* * *

><p><em>Just forget about it Hermione. It was just a spur of the moment thing. It won't happen again. Both of you will just pretend it never happened. Just act normal and it will all be okay.<em>

That was what Hermione kept telling herself as she made her way to charms fifteen minutes later. When she entered the room she glanced in Draco's direction, but he made no indication that he had noticed her walk in. Hoping it was just because he wasn't paying attention and not that he was trying to avoid her, Hermione went to sit herself next to Ron.

"Where were you?" he asked. "We actually made it here before you."

"Library," was her one word answer.

"Good afternoon class," Professor Flitwick greeted his students. "As you may have guessed from your assigned reading today we will be attempting to master a charm and potion combination: the _Disparem _charm. Would someone like to explain to us exactly what this charm is just to be clear?"

As to be expected, Hermione rose her hand up in the air, though not as eagerly as she had in previous years. She had come to learn that feeling immediately inclined to answer every posed question was annoying to most of the student population. Now she kept her hand down for a good five seconds or so to allow anyone else that wanted to answer the chance to do so before offering herself.

"Ah yes, Ms. Granger," Flitwick smiled.

"The Disparem charm allows the person it is casted upon to experience two alternate realities for a period of five minutes, starting from when the charm is cast over them. It permits harmless decision making, for in between each reality you are brought back to the original space and time from when the charm was first cast."

"Excellent description, Ms. Granger!" Professor Flitwick said. "Five points to Gryffindor!"

Hermione blushed as she was always wont to do, as the rest of the class started to whisper about the effect of the charm.

"Now," Professor Flitwick went on, "In order to work, the Disparem charm must be cast after the intended user has taken its corresponding potion. It is the potion that allows your body into a state that can withstand being automatically thrust back through time twice. The main ingredient for the potion is kava root extract, which, as we have studied before, contains numbing properties. The dosage used in the potion will cause you to overdose and enter a catatonic state should you take it more than once within a twenty-four hour period. So, as grand as it would be to be able to control every five minutes of our lives, it is not advised. Yes Ms. Brown?"

"Is there way to lengthen the amount of time we're allowed to experience?" Lavender asked.

"Unfortunately, at this moment five minutes is the limit. There are, however, some ambitious wizards trying to figure out exactly what you asked. Now, I'm going to ask you to separate into pairs to brew the potion together, but you will each cast your own charm when the time comes. Go!"

With his final permission, the students began to noisily partner together. As usual, Harry and Ron were fighting over who would get Hermione as their partner. After a quick game of paper-scissor-rock it was decided that Harry was the lucky winner, and Ron had to join Neville at the next table over.

"You set up the cauldron Harry, and I'll go get the ingredients," Hermione instructed.

"Alright then," Harry answered, and willingly began to set up their cauldron while Hermione made her way to the storage cabinet. She paused for a second as she realized Draco was already there collecting things for him and Blaise. Deciding it would be even more awkward if she stayed where she was she stepped into place behind him to wait for her turn. As he pivoted around with his arms full of the needed ingredients he almost bumped into her. They caught each other's eyes for a second before he wordlessly stepped out of the way and hastened back to his desk.

Hermione groaned internally. After putting everything that happened in the past behind them within the space of a few months, they were going to end up pretty much where they started? No, she wasn't going to have that. He meant too much to her now to let go of just because he was a few pages ahead of her, and she wasn't even sure they were in the same book. They'd work through it and it would be okay.

_I'll catch him after class, _she affirmed to herself as she gathered what she needed and returned to her desk where Harry already had the cauldron simmering.

Twenty minutes later and nearly everyone's concoctions were ready. Professor Flitwick went around the room from cauldron to cauldron making sure each pair's potion was the correct shade of aqua green before giving them the go ahead to each take a spoonful.

Hermione excitedly sipped hers down. It tasted pleasantly like a medicine she used to have to take when she was younger for ear infections. She would've gladly chugged the whole thing down if the side effects weren't too dangerous.

"Alright then," Professor Flitwick began once everyone had taken their potion. "You will now get ready to experience the actual charm. You will line up in your pairs in front of the classroom door. On my count of three the person on the left in the first pair will cast the charm on the person on the right. Once the charm is cast the person on the right will have five minutes to wander outside this room. When that five minutes is up they will be returned to the space and time when the charm was cast and then are free to wander around for their second set of five minutes. When this time is up they will once again be returned to the space and time when the charm was first cast. At this point they will say the word "done" to their partner to signify that they have completed the charm. The person on the right will then cast the charm on their partner and the process will repeat itself. Once that partnership is done the next pair of students will cast the charm in the same sequence. After you have completed the charm you are to return to your seats and write about your experience. Now line up!"

Hermione hurriedly dragged Harry to the front of the line, excited to test out the charm. Behind them were Parvati and Lavender; Ron and a nervous Neville ended up somewhere near the back; Draco and Blaise were somewhere near the middle.

"Ready?" Harry said, and she nodded in response.

Seeing that everyone was lined up properly, Professor Flitwick made his way to the front of the line next to Harry and Hermione. "On my count of three Mr. Potter," he said. "One, two, three!"

"_Disparem!"_ Harry said clearly, swishing his wand up and then straight back down in front of Hermione. There was a flash of brilliant light that matched perfectly the color of the potion, and Hermione could feel a strange sensation course through her insides for a moment.

"Go Ms. Granger!" Flitwick said to her.

Without hesitation Hermione went through the door out of the classroom and into the empty hallway. Not having any plan of action for what she was about to do, she decided to just venture right for her first five minutes, and then left for her second set. If only she really had a choice that needed to be made, then this would have been more interesting than it already was. But who knew, maybe she'd stumble upon something.

By the time her first set of five minutes were up Hermione had done nothing but successfully make it from the charms classroom to the great hall in record time. She felt an odd tug on her body as it was shot back through time and she ended up right where she had been standing next to Harry.

Not wanting to waste a moment she made her way through the door again and into the hallway. This time she decided she was going to head to the library, see if she could make it there in less than five minutes. She did, and in fact had time to read the first couple pages of a book she thought looked interesting.

The remainder of her five minutes passed, and then she was brought back to Harry's side.

"Done," she said with a smile before performing the charm on him. In less than two seconds he repeated the word back to her, and Hermione couldn't help but marvel at the fact that her ten minute experience also lasted that long in reality.

They headed back to their seats, ready to write down what they had done. Harry had decided to take a risk with his allotted time and go find Ginny in her classroom. McGonagall had not been happy with the interruption. His second go around, he sent a note into her class instead, saying that she was needed in the Hospital Wing. That went better than the first time.

As everyone else went it seemed that all the boys had decided to do something that would for sure get them in trouble were the experience to actually take place, and if anyone were around to catch them. Some of them were able to get away with their actions in there false reality, while others were not as lucky. It was a good thing none of it actually happened, or many of the boys would be finding themselves a one way ticket home on the Hogwarts Express.

Hermione watched as it was Draco's turn to be charmed. Blaise cast the "_Disparem_" and a couple moments later she heard Draco say, "Done." She was about to return to her work when she noticed that he was staring at her intently. There was something about his expression that didn't sit well with her. It was different than before; no longer embarrassed or awkward from what had transpired between them. He looked _sad_. As he turned away from her and sat back down at his desk, she couldn't help but wonder if something had happened in his experience to have him look at her that way.

Class ended and Draco was the first one out of the room; Hermione followed quickly after him, ignoring Harry and Ron's shouts.

"Draco!" she called after him, but he didn't turn around. "Draco!" She latched onto his arm as she caught up with him, keeping him from going any further. "Can we talk?"

"I have a Quidditch game to get to, you know that," he replied.

"This will only take a second," Hermione said.

"Everything alright Hermione?" Ron asked, him and Harry coming up next to her.

"We just need to discuss our next study session is all," Hermione lied smoothly.

"We'll see you in the Quidditch stands then," Ron said, placing a kiss on her cheek. Harry said his farewell and they both went on their way, but not before Ron shot Draco a warning look. _I'll have to have a talk with that boy later, _she thought, not appreciating his possessive actions.

The hall soon emptied so that it was only Hermione and Draco, standing in a somewhat awkward silence.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Hermione sighed. "I don't want what happened earlier to get between us, so let's just pretend it never happened, okay?"

Draco gave a small smile before answering nonchalantly. "If that's what you want, then that's what will be."

"Thank you," Hermione said softly. She could tell that wasn't really what he wanted, but it was what would be best for both of them. "Well then…sorry for keeping you, you can go off to your match now."

"Who are you going to cheer for?"

"Who do you think?"

Draco smirked halfheartedly. "Wishful thinking, I guess."

"Hey, I may want Gryffindor to win, but that doesn't mean I won't be happy if you catch the snitch."

"Thanks Granger," Draco said as he walked away. Before he could get too far, Hermione ran up to him and wrapped him in a hug.

"For good luck," she said. He smiled down at her and then hurried toward the Quidditch pitch.

_That went well, _Hermione thought happily.

With Draco and her back on track, and a good half hour until the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch match, Hermione decided to do some studying in the library. After all, a little extra studying never hurt anybody.

* * *

><p><em>Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, <em>Hermione thought as she ran towards the Quidditch pitch at top speed. She had gotten so lost in her studying she didn't realize that she was officially five minutes late for the match. If she didn't get there by the time the players came out and Ron saw that she wasn't waving at him from the stands, he'd be despondent for the rest of the night, saying things like '_You don't care enough'_ and '_If you loved me you'd be on time.'_ She really didn't feel like dealing with that.

Hermione was nearly to the pitch when she heard the unfortunate shrill blow of the whistle.

_I'm dead, _she thought. Ron would not be happy, especially since it was a game against Slytherin, which according to him were the games that mattered most. She hurriedly made her way to the Gryffindor stands and started climbing the stairs.

"And Ginny Weasley has the Quaffle!" She heard Luna shout, doing her duty as commentator. "She passes it to Robins and oh! Robins drops it while dodging a Bludger from Zabini!"

Hermione was now at the top of the stands. She spotted Neville sitting at the opposite end, a free spot next to him that he had been saving for her. "Excuse me- pardon me-" she said politely as she shuffled past those already sitting.

"No I will not let you use my body spray!" One of the girls Hermione was about to pass in front of squealed to her friend.

"Oh come on, just a spritz!" The other said, trying to take it from her.

"Excuse me," Hermione said, but they didn't hear her. Rolling her eyes, she began to side step into the space between them and the edge of the stand.

"My boyfriend gave this to me, and I want it to last as long as possible," the first girl said firmly, forcefully snatching her arm back and away from her friend and standing up, right into Hermione. Before Hermione knew it, she had been pushed over the railing and was now free-falling towards the bottom of the Quidditch pitch. Everyone's attention was turned towards the Gryffindor stands as the other students began to gasp and scream.

"Oh no! Hermione!" Luna screeched. This got the attention of the flying Quidditch players, who were now stopped in midair, watching the scene unfold.

"Hermione!" Ron shouted, followed by, "_Disparem!_"

There was a flash of aqua as the spell hit her, but she continued to fall.

"Ron you git!" Harry yelled, snatching they boy's wand out of his hand and smacking him on the back of the head with it. "That's the alternate reality spell, not whatever you thought it was that was going to bloody save her! _Wingardium Leviosa!_"

Harry's hover charm was unneeded however, for to everyone's shock and surprise, Draco Malfoy had already caught her in his arms, right before she was about to hit the ground, using his body as a shield just as they made contact.

"Granger?" he said, lightly lifting her off of him and cradling her in his arms. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't responding to his light shakes of her body; she was undoubtedly unconscious.

* * *

><p>"What the hell Weasley!" Draco yelled as they stood by Hermione's bedside in the hospital wing. The game had been postponed due to her unfortunate incident. "Did you completely lose all form of intelligence?"<p>

"It was the first thing that came to mind, okay? And what are _you_ still doing here?" Ron shot back from his seat on the other side. Harry and Ginny were next to him.

"Well in case you haven't noticed, Hermione and I are friends now, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if I was here. She actually might prefer waking up and seeing me than seeing you, being the one that actually caught her."

At that Ron leapt from his spot and lunged after Draco, knocking him to ground. They both began to throw punches at each other, with Draco gaining the upper hand as he flung Ron over so he was against the floor face down. Harry attempted to get them off each other, but just succeeded in getting himself hit in the face.

"What is going on here?!" Professor McGonagall boomed as she finally made her way into the room, Madame Pomfrey and Professor Flitwick behind her. The Headmistress said a quick spell that blasted the two boys away from each other. "Detention, both of you! And fifty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin! You may stay for Ms. Granger's prognosis, but after that I'm going to have to ask both of you to leave! Now Professor Flitwick, if you would please."

"Yes, Headmistress. It appears that due to the remnants of the Disparem potion still present in Ms. Grangers body, the spell Mr. Weasley cast was able to take full effect."

"But then she should've woken up already!" Draco shouted impatiently.

"Mr. Malfoy, I will not hesitate to cast a silencing spell on you if you can't hold your tongue," McGonagall said sternly. Draco complied with a low growl.

"As I was saying," Professor Flitwick continued, "Ms. Granger is under the effects of the Disparem charm, and as Mr. Malfoy pointed out, yes, Ms. Granger should've come to by now. However, in certain cases, a charm can have unexpected effects if the person it is cast upon is under duress. The trauma of Ms. Granger's fall has caused her to enter a prolonged state of altered reality, and there is no way of knowing when she will escape from it. She is alive though, and that we can be grateful for, if nothing else. It really is quite an astonishing event."

There was silence in the room as Professor Flitwick finished his prognosis of Hermione's current condition, and all three boys were staring at blankly at the short man.

"So that's it?" Draco was the first to speak up. "She's just going to lay here for who knows how long while she experiences some strange time in the future?"

"No! I want her back now!" Ron yelled, at which Draco shot him a scowl.

"We'll do everything we can to figure out if there's a way to get Ms. Granger out of this, but as of right now this is what's happening," McGonagall said. "Now that you know the circumstances regarding Ms. Granger I'm going to have to ask the two of you to leave. Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley are allowed to stay."

Grudgingly the two boys made their way out of the hospital wing, Harry and Ginny giving them apologetic looks as they went. Draco took one last glance at Hermione's sleeping form before leaving the room. He hoped it wouldn't be long until she opened her eyes again.

* * *

><p>Hermione opened her eyes, the sunshine streaming through a window to her right blinding her awake.<p>

_Nice to know I survived that fall, _she thought. _Stupid, inane girls._

She shifted herself up, and wrapped the blanket that was draped over her more tightly around her as her vision came into focus. _Wait a minute…_

The room she was in was definitely not the hospital wing. In fact, it wasn't any sort of hospital room. It was a regular bedroom, with white-washed walls and an elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling. To her left was an archway leading to what she could only assume was a bathroom. Directly in front of her were two French doors. The bed she was in was king-sized, had sheets of silk, and the fluffiest comforter she had ever slept under in her life.

_Where am I? _

Slowly Hermione untangled herself from the bed and made her way over to the bathroom. The entire room was his and hers, except for the one shower, which could have comfortably fit six people. Right next to it was a bathtub that looked like it belonged in a high class spa rather than someone's home. The tile she was stepping on was pearly white and cool under her feet.

Hermione could only come to two conclusions: she was either at a really fancy hotel, or someone's home. Either way, whoever was there with her was filthy rich.

She cautiously ventured back into the main room and out its doors, where she entered a long, wide, and vacant hallway. _Nope, definitely not a hotel._

She started walking down the corridor, her pace quickening as the apprehension of not knowing where she was caught up with her. She reached a set of stairs going down to a lower level, and hurried down them. She passed by a large living room, a sitting room, a personal theater, and a couple wall fountains. Then she finally heard noises coming from not too far ahead of her.

A few moments later, Hermione found herself in a brightly lit kitchen filled with jet black appliances and red marble counter tops. A man with red hair had his back to her as he poured himself a cup of coffee. He must've heard her come in because he turned around to face her.

"Oh good, you're up," he said as he took a sip from his mug.

Hermione had to keep herself from falling over as the face of Ronald Weasley looked back at her, older, and smiling.

"Did you sleep well Mrs. Weasley?"

_Oh crap. _


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione stood still as she took in the man standing in front of her, who up until- well she really wasn't sure anymore how long ago- had just been the 17 year old boyfriend she spent every day with. She knew she had to speak soon though, or she'd have some explaining to do, and she didn't really feel like doing that at the moment.

"Y-yeah," she said shakily, but she must've not sounded too off, for Ron didn't take notice. Hermione jumped as a _ping! _sounded from behind him and he pulled two slices of toast out of the toaster oven.

"Well I'm off to Quidditch now," he said, flicking his wand in the air so that butter spread on his pieces of bread. He stuck one of the pieces in his mouth and took a bite before speaking some more. "Don't forget to get Rose, we don't want her to start thinking she lives there. I'll see you tonight,"

A moment later and he had apparated away, leaving Hermione by herself in the kitchen.

_Okay Hermione, _she thought. _No need to panic. So you're in some strange dream future world where you're married to Ron. Nothing wrong with that. _The voice in her head was obviously unsure about that last statement however, for it had begun to squeak.

Finding the strength to move, Hermione went straight to the sink and flipped on the faucet, taking a second to swivel it all the way to the right. She shoved her hands underneath, letting the freezing water pour into her cupped hands before splashing it onto her face. She did this multiple times until her face began to feel slightly numb. She was more awake now, but only more awake in this world she had entered. It definitely wasn't a dream.

Hermione didn't even bother drying her face off.

Taking a deep breath, she started looking at the room around her. The kitchen was attached to a dining room, where an extensive mahogany table was situated. It was empty except for an ornate flower arrangement that was in the center. She caught sight of a large, golden framed mirror attached to the wall at one end of it and hurried over.

Once again Hermione had to tell herself not to panic.

Although she could still recognize herself in her reflection, her face was obviously older. She looked like she had put on a little weight, but not too much, just enough to give her a fuller figure. Her hair fell just below her shoulders, but it had kept its waviness it had developed during her last couple years at Hogwarts. All in all, Hermione had to say she aged pretty well, though it was still very disconcerting, considering she still _felt _like her eighteen year old self.

_Think, Hermione, think! How could you have gotten here?_

She thought back to everything she remembered before waking up, but it was all kind of blurry. She remembered walking to the Quidditch game... she was late… and then…yes, some stupid girls knocked her over the stands… she was falling and Luna shouted out her name, then someone yelled out a spell…it was…_Ron_…Ron cast the Disparem charm they had learned earlier, and then it all went black.

In his panic he had probably just shouted the first spell to come to mind, even though it wouldn't have done anything. Unless no one had stopped her from hitting the ground and she was dead, it was probably likely that Ron's spell had sent her into some strange reality/future. She'd just have to live through it the best she could and wait for the time to be up.

Looking past the reflection of herself, Hermione noticed that on the opposite wall was a painting the same size as the mirror. In it were four people: two adults and two children, a boy and a girl. Hermione turned around and went over to look closer at it.

The adults in the painting were none other than herself and Ron, and it didn't take her long to figure out who the two children were. If the way Hermione and Ron had their hands placed lovingly on each of the children's shoulders didn't give it away, the red hair, the freckles, and the brown eyes should've been a great indication. The girl looked to be the older of the two, for she was taller, and the boy still had the chubby cheeks signifying toddlerhood.

She had a daughter and son with Ron Weasley. Hermione smiled.

Whatever future life this was, it wasn't looking too bad. She was _married _to _Ron _and they had a _family _together. As that thought finally clicked into place, Hermione couldn't hold it anymore and squealed with girlish delight. She gave herself a moment to be completely giddy about the fact, and then composed herself. After all, she had a whole life to figure out.

Rose… Ron had mentioned the name before he left. _"Don't forget to get Rose," _he had said. _"We don't want her to start thinking she lives there." _If she was assuming correctly, Rose was their daughter. But where was there? And where was her son? What day was it anyway? Was she supposed to be somewhere?

These questions and more began to plague Hermione. Calming herself and deciding to focus on only one thing at a time, she chose to figure out where her son was first, then the date second. The date on the painting said December 25, 2007, and seeing that she looked more or less the same as her reflection in the mirror, the present day's date couldn't be too far in the future.

Thinking that her children's rooms couldn't be too far from where hers had been, Hermione went back to where she originally woke up. From there she went from to door to door, hoping to find a room that belonged to a boy.

She found instead a grand bathroom, and a couple more after that; a few bedrooms, which weren't decorated personally enough to belong to anyone in particular; a room full of nothing but stuff relating to Quidditch (_Typical Ron, _she thought with a snicker); and a toy room that could have easily fit the Gryffindor common room. Finally Hermione happened upon the room she was looking for. She frowned a little as she looked back down the hallway and noticed how far it was from the master bedroom. Deciding that that would be a question to answer later, Hermione shook her head and entered the room.

It was painted in a brilliant shade of chalky blue, with Quidditch decorations everywhere, and the name "Hugo" written on one of the walls. In the corner was a crib, which Hermione immediately went to. Inside laid the cutest little boy she had ever seen, with red hair that resembled his father's. He was still sleeping, his chest rising with every breath he took. Hermione smiled down at her son, and stroked his cheek with her finger. It was strange to think that she had barely been in the room a few moments, but she already loved the small being in front of her. Even though she couldn't remember being pregnant with him, or giving birth, he was _hers_. He was her Hugo.

Knowing that the boy was okay where he was, and now knowing where to find him, Hermione went on to her next order of business.

The question was, where to find a clock and a calendar?

_Think Hermione, this is _your_ house. Where would you keep a calendar?_

The answer, she realized, wasn't that hard to figure out. Judging by the vastness of what parts of the house she had already passed through, and the extravagantness of it all, it wasn't too farfetched to believe that either Ron or herself had a study somewhere. That was where she would definitely find a calendar. Now all she had to do was find the study.

Luckily, it didn't take her as long to find it as Hugo's room. The study was the size of her dormitory at school, had a bay window, and shelves of books that went all the way from the floor to the ceiling. Hermione had to remind herself why she had been looking for the room in the first place to keep her from immediately perusing the various tomes. There was a clock hanging on one of the walls, and reading it quickly Hermione found that it was now 8:15 in the morning. Making her way to the desk Hermione began to search through it, moving around the office supplies and papers littering the top. She came to the conclusion that she and Ron must share the study, or it was just his, for she would never let her workspace get so cluttered.

She found what she wanted at the bottom of everything the desk was holding.

_March 2008, _Hermione said to herself, reading the month the calendar was currently turned to. Hermione groaned as she realized there was nothing that would help her figure out what day it actually was.

For the second time that morning Hermione jumped as she heard a tapping on the window. She looked up and saw an owl holding something in its beak, waiting to be let in. Hermione was about to open the glass, when an invisible slot appeared of its own accord and slid open, giving the bird entrance. It flew over to the desk and deposited a newspaper onto it before flying away again.

Picking up the paper, Hermione gave a sigh of relief. It was the Sunday Prophet, and the date at the top made it clear that it was the Sunday, the 16th of March, 2008. So she was nine years in the future. Some time, in between Hogwarts and now, she had married Ron and had two kids.

"Way to take it slow, Hermione," she scoffed. Apparently she had made other choices in her life.

Now that she knew which time she was in, Hermione felt herself relax a little, though she still had plenty to be going crazy about.

Hermione jumped for the _third _time that day as another owl made its way into the room. This time it was carrying a personal letter, and it dropped it straight into Hermione's hands. Hermione's heart quickened a little as she realized that it was from Ginny.

_Hermione, _

_How's your morning going? Well I hope it's going well, especially since I so graciously took one load off your shoulders for the night (note the sarcasm, I was totally fine with it and you know that). Rose and Lily had a good time together, and are very reluctant to let each other go, so I called Mother and she said she would watch the boys for the day while me and you take the girls out for some Mummy and Daughter time. So you better not have had any other plans because I am quite excited to spend some time with you. Meet at my house at ten capiche? I await your reply. Love you!_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Hermione finished reading the letter and groaned. How was she supposed to explain to Ginny what was going on? Her friend would probably think she was insane and ship her off to St. Mungo's! She could just write back saying she already had plans, but then she'd have to actually think of plans should she be questioned about them later, and currently she had no idea where she was or what she would make plans to do because of that. She couldn't say she was feeling ill, because knowing Ginny she would insist on coming over anyway.

There was only one thing to do: she had to see Ginny. She'd just have to do her best and act like nothing was wrong. And as of right now she had a little under two hours to research as much about her life as possible- plenty of time to get a grip on the basics.

Grabbing some parchment and a quill from off the desk, Hermione began to pen a reply.

_Hey Gin,_

_Sounds good! We will be at your house by ten. See you then!_

_Love,_

_Hermione_

Hermione finished and slipped the parchment onto the owl's outstretched foot. She watched as it flew out the window and into the distance, not looking away until it was invisible speck in the distance.

_Okay Hermione, you can do this. Ready, set, go. _

Hermione went to the bookshelves first, scanning them for journals, albums, scrapbooks- anything personal that would give her any insight on her life, but there was nothing. At the bottom of one of the shelves she noticed a box labeled 'memorabilia' and quickly grabbed it.

Taking the box back to the desk, she lifted off its cover. As the label suggested it was filled of random things in a disorganized manner. There were pictures of her, Ron, and the two kids, each varying with who was in the picture. The dates she came upon ranged from 2001 to the present. By the size of Rose in the different pictures she found of her, it seemed that she was born sometime between 2001 and 2002. Hugo looked to have been born around 2005 or so. A few shuffled papers later and Hermione found that she was right in her estimates. She had found the birth certificates of both her children.

Rose Jane Weasley had been born on February 18, 2001; Hugo had been born on August 2, 2005. Hermione did the calculations in her head, and figured out that Rose would now be 7 and Hugo had just passed 2 and a half.

The box seemed to be charmed just like Hermione's satchel during the war had been, for Hermione began to pull out stacks of newspaper clippings. One of them was of the day Harry defeated Voldemort. Then there were some chronicling the rebuilding of the wizarding world and reestablishment of the Ministry. A few mentioned some parties she, Ron, Harry, and Ginny had attended as being the heroes of the war. She also found the invitation to Harry and Ginny's wedding in December 1999, and pictures indicating that they had three children: James, Albus, and Lily.

The next article she found made Hermione's heart leap. It was the announcement of her and Ron's wedding. It was dated June 22, 2002.

_But that means…_ Hermione thought anxiously as she began searching for Rose's birth certificate one more time for clarity. _Yep, _she sighed. She, Hermione Granger, had had a child out of wedlock. She wondered how her mother and Mrs. Weasley had taken the news. Hermione's Mother wasn't so old-fashioned as to think her daughter would keep her virginity until she was married, but she did believe that children should always come after, never before. _She probably wanted to kill me. Oh well, nothing I can do about it right now._

Hermione continued searching through the photographs and newspaper clippings she found in the box. She wondered why they were in a box and weren't in picture frames to be seen all over the house. She'd have to work on that while she was here if she had the time.

It didn't seem like Ron was in a lot of the pictures, especially in the more recent years, but he was in a fair amount of the newspaper publications. Ron had finally gotten his time in the spotlight that he greatly craved, and Hermione was happy for him. Apparently he was an internationally recognized Quidditch player for the Chudley Canons, which was more than providing them with a lavish lifestyle. She had always hoped he would step out of Harry's shadow and make something of himself, and it was clear that he had.

Speaking of Harry, he and Ginny also seemed to be lacking in pictures. Hermione found this odd, but just shrugged it off as her and Ron focusing on taking pictures of the children. After all, she and the rest of the gang had apparently already done their growing up.

Suddenly Hermione heard a cry from outside the room which she didn't doubt belonged to Hugo. Leaving everything out like she had it, she got up from her position on the floor and went to retrieve him.

"Mummy!" He said happily when she walked out of the room and into the hallway. He ran up to her with his arms open, and she caught him in a big hug.

It was a strange feeling, loving someone you had never known before right away. _I guess mom was right, _Hermione thought, _the love you have for your child really is instantaneous. _

Hermione picked the boy up and carried him back to his room where she proceeded to get him ready for the day. It wasn't too hard to figure out where to find all his clothes and such; his room was organized just the way Hermione imagined she would.

Ten o'clock came quickly, but she had managed to find her way back to the kitchen to feed the both of them, and also back to the study to find an address book telling her where Ginny lived. She and Harry had taken up residency in Godric's Hollow in his parents' old house, just like Harry said he would.

Hermione located a small hall of four fireplaces next to the kitchen (she had no idea why they'd need four, but she'd find out later), chose one, and then grabbed some floo powder from the tray on top of its mantle.

"Potter Cottage!" she said, holding tightly to Hugo as the floo activated.

She stepped out of the Potter's fireplace not a second later, and was shortly bombarded by two small girls, both with flaming red hair.

"Aunt Hermione!" the smaller of the two, obviously Lily, said, while Rose simply squealed, "Mummy!"

"Hello,"

"Right on time as usual," a voice to Hermione's right said.

Ginny Weasley, now Potter, didn't look too much different in the face from the sixteen year old Hermione currently knew, but there were the slight traces that indicated she had grown and matured. Her body did look like she had had three kids however, being filled out where it hadn't been before.

"When am I ever not?" Hermione chuckled, while simultaneously taking everything in.

"Okay, I thought we'd go to Diagon Alley and do some shopping. There's a sale going on in that new children's store _Pandamonium_. I'm just going to grab my purse and then we can go," Ginny said, just as Molly Weasley stepped into the room.

"Hello, dear," she greeted with a warm embrace.

Hermione panicked for a moment as she struggled with what to call her mother in-law. She usually called her Mrs. Weasley, but she very well couldn't call her that now. She decided to go with Mum, what she had always planned on calling her future mother-in-law, and see where it got her.

"Hello, mum," she said as easily as she could, and she gave a hidden sigh of relief when no one found it odd.

"And how's my little munchkin this morning," Molly said, turning her attention away from Hermione and to the giggling Hugo sitting on the floor. Ginny reappeared about a moment later and she, Hermione, and the two little girls grabbed hands to apparate together.

"You have fun now, and don't worry about taking too much time!" Molly called after them as the group of four disappeared with a _pop_.

* * *

><p>Diagon Alley wasn't too changed from the last time Hermione had been there, which was apparently nine years ago. There were a few new stores, and some that had been updated, but Gringotts was still big and looming, the Leaky Cauldron still looked like a shabby, hole-in-the-wall pub, and Ollivander was still selling his state-of-the-art wands.<p>

They took their time just walking down the road and going into whatever shop tickled their fancy. The girls had fun trying out different outfits in the children's stores they went into, and Hermione bought some of those as well, along with some clothes for Hugo.

Thankfully, Ginny didn't notice that anything was off with Hermione. Almost all of their conversation was Ginny venting about Harry's job as an auror and how she worried about him, and Hermione gave her the best advice she could on the matter. Thankfully, Ginny didn't ask her anything she couldn't answer.

They soon found themselves in Flourish and Blotts, and Hermione left Ginny and their kids in the children's section to take herself on a self-guided tour of the building. If there was one thing that would never change, it was her love for books.

She was browsing through the Muggle Section, which she was surprised they had, when the top of a platinum blonde head just visible in the aisle on the other side of her shelf caught her attention.

Curious, she made her way around, and her lips quickly curved into a smile as she found just who she thought she would, scanning the pages of _Paradise Lost_. He looked exactly like he did when she last saw him in the Hogwarts hallway before waking up in this other world: Tall, naturally pale, and handsome.

"Draco,"

He jumped at the call of his name, and swung his head quickly to the right in response.

"Granger, how many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?" he lightly growled, closing the book and taking it with him as he moved over to her.

"Not enough I guess," Hermione replied casually, though in her head she was quickly wondering at the number. "Though I wouldn't really call what I just did sneaking,"

"I suppose not."

Hermione couldn't help the grin plastered over her face. Somehow, her friendship with Draco had survived past Hogwarts, and her marriage to Ron. She wondered, if the two men were possibly friends now too.

"You're husband's not here is he?" Draco asked, answering her thoughts, though she didn't miss the frown that had appeared on his face with the query.

"No…just Ginny,"

"Good then, one of the Weasley's that like me. We wouldn't want another incident now would we?"

Hermione quickly analyzed Draco's sentence, coming to a few conclusions that she wasn't really pleased about. One, Draco was, if not friends, on good terms with Ginny, and not Ron. Two, something had happened between them before that was not good.

"Probably not," she said, knowing that would be the appropriate response.

"Daddy!" Hermione heard a little boy that looked to be the same age as Rose, shout as he ran into the aisle. Draco turned around to face him, just in time for the boy to hold up an open book to him.

Hermione noted the striking blonde of the boy's hair, and the prominent Malfoy features she had seen on both Draco and his father. Added together, they could really only mean one thing.

Draco Malfoy had a son.

"I found a book on dragons that I don't have yet! And the wings move!" the boy said with glee, pointing to the picture of the large red dragon featured on the page he had the book opened to.

"Well then, there's no way we're leaving the store without it, is there Scorpius?!" Draco said, matching the boy's tone, much to Hermione's entertainment. "Why don't you go down and read it at one of the tables for a little bit? I'm still looking at some books and talking to Mrs. Weasley, who you so rudely forgot to say hi to,"

"Hi Mrs. Weasley," Scorpius smiled with two rows of perfect teeth.

"Hello, Scorpius,"

"I saw Rose and Lily in by the kids' books so I'll join them!"

Without waiting for a reply from his father, Scorpius hurried out of the aisle way and to his destination.

"He's just a bundle of energy," Hermione commented with a laugh.

"I try to get him all hyped up on sugar before returning him to his mum, that way she'll remember that he's there…and maybe just to rile her up a bit," he admitted with a wink as he began to peruse one of the shelves again.

_So he's divorced, or just not together with Scorpius' mum anymore. I wonder who she is…_

"Looking for a particular book?" She asked.

"This one," Draco said, taking a book off the shelf and showing it to her. _Dante's Inferno._

"Preparing for the worst?"

"Ha ha. It's on this list of classic muggle literature that I'm trying to get through. I'm sure you're just trying to find a book you haven't read yet,"

Hermione rolled her eyes. She quickly looked at the shelf next to her and found picked up a book she hoped she hadn't read yet in this future.

"_The Golden Ass_? I would've thought you'd read that about a billion times already."

"My copy's been worn out from repeated use," Hermione excused herself.

"Of course," Draco chuckled. "Well we both got what we came for, shall we gather our spawn?"

"They're our children Draco, not _spawn_,"

"Yes, you keep reminding me," he smiled as they made their way to the children's section.

"And then the dragon can save the princess from the tower!" They heard Scorpius yell as they got closer to the table that he was seated at along with Ginny, Rose, and Lily.

"And the princess will hope on its back!" Lily squealed.

"And the prince will slay the evil witch and then the princess will say '_Oh, you're my hero!' _and then they'll kiss and live happily ever after!" Rose finished happily.

Both girls sighed in romantic wonder, while Scorpius just stared at them with a scandalized look on his face.

"Bleh! No kissing in my story," he said in disgust.

"I think we have future novelists in the making," Ginny said as Draco and Hermione reached them.

"What's a novelist?" Rose asked.

"It's someone who writes books sweetie," Hermione answered her daughter.

"I'm not going to write books, I'm going to be a princess," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"And I'm going to be an auror like my dad!" Scorpius proclaimed.

"Of course you are buddy," Draco said, ruffling his son's hair. "Ready to go home?"

"No."

"You're mum's probably waiting for you,"

"No she isn't,"

"Scorp…" Draco sighed.

"How about the two of you have lunch with us?" Ginny intervened.

"Yes! Can we dad? Please?" Scorpius begged.

"Well…" Draco said, looking from Ginny to Hermione with an unsure expression on his face. Hermione noticed Ginny shoot him a '_yes I'm sure'_ glare that seemed to determine his decision. "Alright. Let me pay for our books and we can go,"

Draco took the book his son had, and, before she could protest, the one Hermione had picked up as well.

* * *

><p>Lunch with Draco and Scorpius had proved to be very enjoyable. They had decided to eat at a new burger place that had just opened, which even had a play area for kids.<p>

While the kids ran around, the adults conversed- well, Ginny and Draco conversed while Hermione just listened and tried to speak up where she could so as to not seem odd. The topic stayed pretty much on the shenanigans of their children, but Hermione was able to learn that Scorpius was the same age as Rose, his mother's first name was Astoria, and Draco was Harry's partner in the Auror Department of the ministry.

They parted around two when it was clear the children were wiped out. Hermione went back to Ginny's so the girls could nap and she and Ginny could take a break before they spent some more time with their daughters.

It wasn't until six that evening that Hermione returned home with her two children.

_Phew. _Her first full day as a mother and she hadn't sent any of her kids to the hospital, or worse, the morgue. On top of that she had managed to keep Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, Draco, and all the kids from figuring out that anything was wrong.

Ron still wasn't home yet, and she wasn't sure what time he would be home. She and the kids had eaten dinner with Ginny, but she wondered if she should make something for when Ron came. That's what wives did right?

It was only seven o'clock, and the kids were still wired from their fun with the Potters, so Hermione set them in front of the gigantic TV their living room harbored and found a movie for them to watch.

Hopeful that they would be sufficiently occupied for the time being, Hermione found her way to the kitchen.

From what she could tell, they didn't own any house elves, which meant she had to learn her way around the kitchen and fast. She inspected every cabinet and appliance just as she had Hugo's room earlier that day, and within ten minutes had memorized where everything was well enough to pass any suspicion.

Luckily, she wouldn't have to cook at all, something she had never really mastered to begin with. She had found some leftovers in the fridge that would do for when Ron returned; she would warm them up when he got home- whenever that was.

By the time eight o'clock came around both Rose and Hugo had drifted off on the couch. Hermione brought Hugo up to bed first, putting him in his pajamas and then settling him in his crib, before doing it all again with Rose.

She spent the next hour acquainting herself with the house, or more appropriately, mansion. It had six bedrooms: the master, the two kids' rooms, and three guest rooms. In addition to the two studies and the library, there was also a home theater, the play room that looked like it came straight out of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and the Quidditch room. Outside she found a magnificent garden, a decently sized quidditch pitch, and a swimming pool complete with two diving boards and a waterslide.

Hermione wasn't really into extravagance, so she wondered how she ended up agreeing to living in a house like this. It was pretty much a small scale Palace of Versailles, and Hermione wanted to live in a home, not a palace.

Tired, and not sure what else to do with herself, she made her way back to the living room and settled into the couch, flipping through the stations on the TV until she found something she liked.

It wasn't until half past ten that Ron finally apparated in, startling an asleep Hermione awake.

"Hey," she smiled groggily.

"Hi. I thought you'd be asleep already," Ron said, taking off his cloak and throwing it in the space next to her.

"I wanted to wait up for you. I didn't think you'd be coming back this late,"

"We had a lot to do today, new equipment and the like, so we went over schedule quite a while,"

"I see. Maybe it won't go on as long tomorrow and we can do something together."

Hermione was pretty sure there wouldn't be a tomorrow, but it sounded like something she would say.

Ron bent down to give her a peck on the lips, causing her stomach to flip and her cheeks to redden.

"That would be nice," he said, before heading out of the room. "I'm going to go up and crash, I'm knackered,"

"Aren't you hungry?" Hermione asked, getting up and following him. "There's some food in the fridge I can heat up for you if you like,"

"Nah, they fed us quite well for keeping us so long. Let's just go to bed, you can feed me breakfast in the morning,"

Ron grabbed her hand and began leading her up the stairs and to their bedroom. "Alright then," she said, trying not to sound too much like a giddy school girl. Ron, _her husband, _wanted her to make him breakfast in the morning.

As they reached the bedroom, her stomach gave a nervous jolt. She had forgotten one of the main things that comes with being married: sharing a bed. Hermione had never shared a bed with a boy before, let alone a man, other than her father way back when she was still in diapers. Now she was about to get into one with Ron.

_Relax. You're married to him. It's just Ron. _She kept telling herself, and that seemed to calm her nerves as she got ready for bed. She actually began to be excited about the idea.

By the time Hermione had changed into the flannel pajamas she had been wearing that morning (in the safety of her closet) and brushed her teeth, Ron had already tucked himself between the covers, lying on his stomach with his arm under his head.

Hermione crawled in next to him, trying not to move the bed too much. It was a fairly large bed, so big that had she not known that Ron was there with her, she wouldn't have been able to tell since he was so far on the other side.

"Goodnight," she whispered to him, for it seemed awkward not to. Either he had already fallen asleep or he didn't hear her, because she didn't get a response.

_Well this was sure an interesting day, _Hermione thought to herself. She had just experienced what a life with Ron would look like and so far she loved it. She was married to the man she loved, had two beautiful children with him, and was living quite a comfortable life.

She would probably be back at Hogwarts in the morning, but if she wasn't, she could easily get used to this life. She closed her eyes, ready to drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Hermione woke up in the morning so warm and comfortable she didn't want to get up. Not that she would've been able to anyway; a heavy arm still clung around her torso, keeping her in place. The source of warmth she felt came from the body pressed against her back, and the head nuzzling into her neck.<p>

_S_he grinned sleepily. So she wasn't back at Hogwarts and eighteen again. Oh well. She'd just have to spend the day trying to figure out how to get back to her own life. Then again, waking up the wife of Ron Weasley wasn't a bad thing to wake up to.

She was about to turn over, but the arm kept her pinned to the bed.

"It's Sunday, let's just stay in bed for a while before our alarms go off," he said, nestling into her hair. Hermione's eyes shot open and her body tensed as she realized that the voice that had spoken did not belong to Ron. She did however, know _exactly_ who it belonged to.

_Crap._

It was going to be another interesting day.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Hello again, and thank you to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this story so far. I know I started it about a year ago and then did nothing with it till now, but be prepared for more frequent updates. I nearly had a heart attack this morning thinking I had accidentally deleted this chapter from every place I had it, but luckily I found it (if I hadn't who know when I would've gotten around to rewriting it). Anyway, I hope you enjoy this Dramione chapter as much as I do, and if you do let me know :)

* * *

><p><em>Malfoy?! <em>Hermione shrieked in her head.

She had been hoping to wake up back in her dormitory, or somewhere on the Hogwarts grounds, or at least the same place she had the day before. But in a bed with _Draco Malfoy_? That she had not been prepared for.

Before she could jump out of the bed and make a fool of herself, the door slowly opened, and Draco groaned.

"And here comes alarm number one," he chuckled, extricating himself from Hermione and rolling onto his back. Hermione mimicked his last action, just in time to see something, or rather _someone_, hop into the bed between them.

"It's morning!" the small figure said happily.

Hermione tried not to gasp as she stared into the gray eyes of a little boy with pale skin, light brown hair and clad in green pajamas with golden snitches littered over it. Except for the hair, he was a miniature Draco.

_Just stay calm, _she thought. _No need to freak everybody out. You did it yesterday and you can do it again. Just. Stay. Calm._

"Why yes it is buddy," Draco said, lightly bonking the boy on the head and going, "Beeep."

"I'm not the snooze button!"

"You're not?"

Draco began tickling him, causing him to thrash wildly on the bed and laugh just as rambunctiously.

"Stop it Dad!" he squealed, trying to push Draco's hands away from him. "You promised us pancakes!"

"Did I now?" Draco said with feigned ignorance. Meanwhile Hermione was focusing on Scorpius' use of the word 'us', and who that referred to. She found out a second later when a small girl sneakily popped up next to her, looking at her with big brown eyes.

"Good morning Mummy," she said.

"Good morning," Hermione said so quietly it was nearly a whisper. Not knowing what else to do she lifted the little girl up and onto the bed next to her brother. The girl snuggled into Hermione, tickling her with her curly golden-brown hair, and Hermione instinctively wrapped her arms around her.

"And alarm clock number two makes her appearance. How is my princess this morning?" Draco asked, poking her on the nose.

"Pancakes!" she shouted gleefully, throwing her hands in the air.

Draco looked at Hermione, sighed, and grinned. "It seems sometime ago I promised our children pancakes. What do you think? Should I go make them?"

The two kids immediately shot her the puppy dog eye looks they had no doubt inherited from their father. "I think you better do it," Hermione laughed shakily.

"Alright, up, up, up!" Draco said, rolling out of the bed and picking up the little girl in his arms, placing a kiss on her forehead. "I need some mixers and bowl lickers to help me."

"Me! Me! Me!" The boy yelled, running out of the room and toward what Hermione could only assume was the kitchen. The girl squirmed out of Draco's arms and ran after her brother, copying his shouts.

"Do you want me to get Pollux?" Draco asked as he grabbed a white t-shirt from the dresser against the wall on his side of the room. For the first time Hermione noticed that he was shirtless, sporting commendable abs and untainted skin, except for the Dark Mark which was still on his left forearm. She watched, mesmerized, as Draco donned the shirt.

"I still take your breath away, don't I?" he joked, catching her staring. Hermione blushed, rolled her eyes, and threw her pillow at him, which he effortlessly dodged. "So am I getting Pollux or you?"

Hermione finally caught what he had asked before his narcissistic comment. "Um…I'll get him," she answered, sliding slowly out of the bed.

Draco went up to her and cupped her face in his hands before kissing her. "Morning, Granger," he said, and he set one final kiss on her forehead before heading out after his children.

Hermione groaned and threw herself back onto the bed, running her hands over her face. Yesterday she was married to Ron with two kids, and today she was married to Draco Malfoy with _three_ (as far as she could gather) kids. Her life was getting way too weird.

She thought the Disparem charm would've dissipated by now and she would be back in her eighteen-year-old self. Apparently she was wrong.

_It's like you said before, you'll just have to get through this day too._

The Disparem charm did make you experience two paths of reality; this was just the second path. Tomorrow she'd probably return to the real world. Probably.

Sighing, she got out of the bed and stepped into the bathroom, taking a look at herself in the mirror just like she had the day before in her life with Ron. She still couldn't get over her aged face- not that she didn't like it at all- it was just strange seeing an older you when you're still technically the young you.

She suddenly heard a soft cry from outside the room, and hurried to find it.

The moment she stepped outside her bedroom door she could tell that this house was much smaller than the mansion she had lived in with Ron. Ahead of her was a narrow landing which quickly became a small hallway that held only four doorways: one straight ahead, two on the left, and one on the right. To her immediate right was a set of switchback stairs that led to the bottom floor; right next to where they ended were the front doors. It was definitely not a mansion, and it definitely wouldn't take her long to memorize the layout of this home.

Hermione followed the sound of the whimpering to the first door on her left and opened it.

There standing in a crib was the most gorgeous baby boy she had ever seen (no offense to Hugo). Just like the boy who had come bursting into the room earlier, he was a spitting image of Draco, but with slight curls in his hair, and big eyes of a deeper shade of grey.

As soon as Hermione entered the room he halted his crying, replacing it with a grin and an excited bounce that just made her melt all over.

"Mu!" He shouted as he reached for her.

"You must be Pollux," Hermione said as she picked him up and into her arms. She just stared at him for a moment, taking in every detail as he stared right back at her. She really couldn't believe she was holding one of three children she had with _Draco Malfoy_.

"And I thought that yesterday I had gone crazy," she chuckled to herself.

She left the room and took a quick peek past the other three doors that were on the upper floor, discovering another boy's room, a girl's room, and a bathroom.

She continued to walk down the hallway, and stopped at a glass display cabinet set up against the left wall that she had overlooked on her first passing. It held various family pictures and trinkets, including what she guessed were the center piece from her wedding cake, and a framed wedding invitation. She peered at it more closely and read that she and Draco had married on the third of May, 2001.

_That's a little bit soon after graduation, _she mused, even if was almost two years later.

On the middle shelf there were three frames all holding pictures of the children's hand and foot prints.

_Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy_, the first one said. _Born the 2__nd__ of March the year 2002._

She moved onto the second one- _Ariel Perdita Malfoy, Born the 14__th__ of June the year 2004; _and then the third- _Pollux Caelum Malfoy, Born the 8__th__ of December the year 2006_

Doing the math quickly in her head, Hermione determined that she had a six-year-old, an almost four-year-old, and a one-year-old. So far, she approved with how this version of her had gone about creating a family life. Sure, it seemed that she had married fast and young, but at least they didn't get married because she was pregnant.

"No! I wanted to lick the bowl!" she heard Ariel whine from somewhere on the lower level as she made her way down the stairs. She easily found the kitchen, and subsequently the living room, after tracking the noise through a door. Ariel and Scorpius were standing next to Draco, the former holding a plastic whisk in her hand, while the latter ignored her and watched his father flip the pancakes.

"You got to choose what we watched on the telly this morning Princess," Draco said without breaking his focus from the stove. Hermione turned her attention to the living room where some cartoon about elementary school kids was playing on a big screen television. "Which means Scorpius gets to lick the bowl and you get the whisk. You know the rules."

Ariel pouted as she reluctantly began to swipe her tongue around the whisk and lick the batter off.

"Why don't you help me set the table when you're done, Ariel?" Hermione suggested as she set Pollux down in the highchair next to the table. The little girl's eyes immediately lit up.

"I almost forgot we named her Ariel," Draco laughed.

"Hmm?"

"It's been a while since anyone's added the –L."

Hermione suddenly became uncomfortable and she quickly searched her mind for a response.

_Well that didn't take long, _she thought. Less than twenty minutes into her morning and she had already made her first mistake. Luckily Draco's attention was still on the stove.

"I thought we could use a reminding of what we named her," she finally said, holding her breath.

"True," he chuckled, not even looking at her.

Hermione breathed a mental sigh of relief. Potential downfall number one had been successfully averted.

"I'm ready to help you Mummy," Ariel grinned, displaying a mouth full of baby teeth.

Hermione smiled back, but it slowly fell as she realized she may have just once again dug her own hole. She had no idea where anything in the kitchen was, and unlike yesterday in the Ron life where she had significant time alone to figure everything out, she was surrounded by a husband and two kids who would immediately pick up on her lack of direction in her own kitchen.

_Come on Hermione, you're not the brightest witch of her age for nothing- think!_

"How about we make this a little game?" she found herself saying. "I'll tell you what we need and you show me where it is. Let's see how well you know your own kitchen."

Ariel moved excitedly about as Hermione told her one at a time what they'd need for the table and found it for her. Hermione followed her daughter, taking out whatever she had been directed to, and committing to memory where everything was.

Ten minutes later and the family of five was sitting together enjoying a breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs, all courtesy of Draco.

"Are we going to the park today Dad?" Scorpius asked through a mouthful of pancake.

"Don't chew with your mouth full Scorpius," Hermione said without even thinking. It seemed all those meals with Ron had been good for something. Scorpius promptly shut his mouth.

"Of course we're going to the park, just like we do every Sunday," Draco said.

"Will Lily be there?" Ariel asked.

"Unless the Potters decide to leave her at home by herself, it's a great possibility Princess."

Hermione fed Pollux small pieces of pancake as she listened, using him as her excuse not to join in, and thankful that her input wasn't needed anyway. She was able to learn some important things from that short conversation, however. One, they were going to the park, and two, Draco was friendly enough with the Potters (which she assumed, and hoped, meant Harry and Ginny) that they were going to be there too.

"When are we going to the park?" Hermione bravely asked once they were all finished eating and she and Draco were clearing up the kitchen.

"At 11. Ginny owled and said that she'll bring sandwiches this time, we just need to bring the drinks. How about you get Pollux and Ari ready, and I'll make sure Scorpius is ready and get the drinks."

"Alright," Hermione nodded as she handed Draco the final dish to put in the dishwasher.

"And we're done." He closed the dishwasher, wiped his wet hands on his shirt, and then pecked Hermione on the cheek before heading out of the room. "Last one ready for the park is a rotten egg!" He said before breaking into a slow run for the stairs. Scorpius and Ariel breezed past Hermione, and she laughed as they weaved around their father and up the steps.

"Well, I made it through breakfast," she said to Pollux, lifting him out of his chair and settling him on her hip. "Now I just have to get through the rest of the day."

* * *

><p>"Lily!"<p>

"Ari!"

"James! Albus!"

"Scorpius!"

"Be careful!" Hermione shouted as all five kids ran onto the playground after greeting each other.

"And stay on the playground or on the grass in front of us!" Ginny added.

They had barely arrived at the park before her two eldest had clicked off their seatbelts and bolted out of the car towards their "cousins" (as both of them had referred to the Potter children). She was of course surprised to find that they were driving to their destination, considering that Draco Malfoy was as far from muggle as it gets. She should've noticed after all his manual labor that morning that some of her non-wizard ways had rubbed off on him.

"I swear it's like they don't see each other almost every day," Ginny said, shaking her head as she gave Hermione a hug, which Hermione returned joyfully.

"Hey Hermione," Harry greeted her with a hug as well.

Her two friends looked just as they had the day before; it seemed that no matter which path she took she would be friends with a happily married Harry and Ginny Potter.

"Hey Draco," Harry nodded to the blonde, who was finally making his way over with the cooler of drinks in his hands. "Did you watch the match last night?"

"Of course I watched the match last night," Draco rolled his eyes setting it down next to the blanket.

"Depressing wasn't it?"

"Only if you're a Puddlemere fan… so yes, it was depressing."

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Ginny asked, giving her friend a warranted strange look, for Hermione had been staring at the interaction between the two former enemies for far longer than was necessary.

"I just get a kick out of every time they're civil to each other," Hermione quickly said.

Ginny eyed her for a moment more, before letting it go. "I know right? You'd think after nearly ten years it'd get old, but it doesn't."

Ginny took Pollux from Hermione, setting him on her lap and cooing at him while his mother made herself comfortable on the blanket next to her. Harry and Draco went to monitor the children, taking a Frisbee with them.

"Ron should be here shortly."

_Ron…_ Hermione mused. She wondered what her husband of yesterday was like in this life, and what he was to her. They had obviously broken up at some point for her to be with Draco. Would it be awkward? Did he still have feelings for her?

"Speak of the Devil," Ginny said, and Hermione followed where her eyes were focused to see a familiar ginger headed man coming towards them sporting a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, short khakis, and police sunglasses.

"Uncle Won, Uncle Won!" Albus yelled.

"And how are my favorite nephews and nieces?" Ron laughed as all the kids except Ariel wrapped themselves around him knocking him over. "Ari, no love for your Uncle Ron?"

"Roxanne told me that that's what you say to _them_ every time they see you," she huffed, her right foot tapping into the ground.

"You've been caught, mate," Harry chuckled.

"Alright, you're _all_ my favorite," Ron said. "But did I bring them bubbles the last time they were at the park?"

All the children squealed as he pulled a box out of his pocket and enlarged it, opening it to reveal six unopened bottles of bubbles. Soon they were all blowing, and jumping, and yelling, as they filled the sky with floating spheres of soap.

"It's amazing how easily entertained children are," he said as he took a seat on the blanket next to Ginny. "Hey, Hermione."

"Hello, Ron."

"So, tell me," Ginny began, "How's Chantal, or Anastasia, or whatever the name of your girlfriend of the week is."

"_Juliet, _is doing quite lovely thank you. We're going out again tonight."

"Let's hope she lasts longer than the last one… or twelve," Ginny teased, causing Ron to punch her playfully on the arm before being called away by Harry, taking Pollux with him.

Hermione had stayed justifiably quiet up to this point, deciding that listening and analyzing was best in her situation. So far it seemed that every one she cared about was on good terms in this life, most notably Ron and Draco, who were passing the Frisbee between them and the three boys, laughing like they'd never hated one another. She still didn't know how Ron felt about her though, since they hadn't really talked. She figured it was safe to believe that he had no feelings for her anymore other than friendship, considering that he was now interacting with her husband; and Draco didn't seem like the type of man that would allow someone with beyond appropriate interests in her near her.

"They are a handful, aren't they?" Ginny said as she lay back in a relaxed position. "I think I'm done. No more kids. I have my two boys and a girl and I am satisfied. What about you?"

"I… suppose," Hermione said, not sure how to answer. Technically she hadn't _had_ any yet, and she'd spent only a few hours with the three she had woken up with.

"I am a little jealous that you still have a baby, though, they're just so cute when their small."

"Yes, they are."

"But you don't have to watch them as much when they're older."

As if on cue, Pollux fell over after having stumbled on his way up the steps of the playground while following his brother. He immediately began to wail, and before Hermione could even stand all the way up, Draco had already hurried over to him and picked him up, placing him on his shoulder and patting him on the back.

"Mu!" Pollux cried.

"I think he wants his mummy," Ginny grinned as Hermione started towards them.

Draco handed Pollux to her, and he quickly quieted down as she held him close to her and soothingly rubbed his back.

For someone with no prior mothering experience she wasn't doing too bad.

She was about to bring him back with her to the blanket when he pointed to the swings and grunted. She brought him over to the swing set and sat him in the one made for toddlers; she pulled it a little forward by the chains and then let it go, creating minimal movement, but high entertainment for the one-year-old, who let out a giggle.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she took in the scene of Ariel sliding with Lily, Scorpius playing tag with James and Albus, and Pollux swinging. She had gained five kids in the last two days, and she loved all of them.

Unfortunately she wouldn't get all of them. She'd either get the two with Ron, or the three with Draco, or possibly none of them at all. No matter which life she ended up living though, she couldn't wait to have either set of children.

She jumped slightly as she felt a hand touch her shoulder and then lips brush against her cheek. A small glance to her left let her know it was Draco. She shivered as his mouth traveled up to her ear and he whispered "I love you," into it as she continued to push Pollux. She didn't say it back, but she supposed the shy grin that had overtaken her mouth was probably good enough for him.

"Hey! This is a family place!" She heard Ron yell at them jokingly, causing her face to flush.

"Relax, Weasley," Draco said back with an equally humorous tone. "I was just telling her how inept you are at catching flat objects." He shot Hermione a wink before returning to the game with Harry and Ron.

_This is way too bizarre, _Hermione thought with a shake of her head as she pulled the chains on the swing back and released them once more.

They stayed at the park for a couple of hours, playing, talking, and eating before all heading back to their respective houses with the promise that they'd reconvene at the Potter's for dinner that night. The kids were of course reluctant to leave, but their whining and groaning was just proof that it was time to go and have some afternoon naps.

"I'm going to take a shower," Draco said once all three of their kids were dozing in their beds.

Hermione hoped she wasn't blushing, but she knew it was impossible. It's not like he had invited her to join him or that she was going to be in the room with him, but just knowing that he was going to be taking a shower was making her face heat up.

"Alright," she said as he disappeared into their room, a little too timidly it seemed for a wife of nearly eight years, for he furrowed his eyebrows and gave a wondering gaze at her response. He didn't comment though, leaving Hermione relieved that she had escaped yet another close call.

She decided to take the opportunity to explore the house, much like she did in the one she had with Ron. Her and Draco obviously didn't live a fabulously ritzy life, but one more comfortable and to Hermione's taste. She looked into every cabinet and drawer, and located a bathroom, pantry, coat closet, and laundry room. She wasn't lucky enough to find one filled with important information this time around, but she did find a backpack that belonged to Scorpius. According to the planner inside he was enrolled in the Albus Dumbledore School for Pre-Hogwarts Education.

"Making sure Scorp got his homework done?" Draco said, startling Hermione.

"Umm, yeah,"

"He was raised by you. You know very well it was all finished as soon as he got home on Friday," he smirked.

"I wouldn't expect any less."

Draco walked up to her and took both of her in hands in his before leading her to the couch. "How about we watch something that we're not allowed to when our children are awake?" he said as he turned on the TV, putting his arm around Hermione and pressing her against him. "I'm thinking, _Gladiator,_"

"I love that movie," Hermione said, hoping it was an appropriate answer, because she hadn't heard of that movie in her life.

Draco smiled widely and kissed her on the head. "You are the best wife ever Mrs. Malfoy."

* * *

><p>"So Draco, how are things at Mungo's?" Harry asked as he took a sip of his drink.<p>

The Malfoys had joined the Potters for dinner as planned, which had been a magnificent pot roast for the adults and some macaroni and cheese for the children, (though both adult males managed to sneak some of the latter dish onto their plates). After they had all finished eating the kids ran off to the Potter's upstairs play room while their parents stayed at the dinner table to indulge in conversation and wine.

Hermione's ears perked up at the mention of Draco's job. Nothing had been said or hinted at on the subject, and she had been curious all day as to what she and he did for a living.

"Oh the usual," Draco answered. "Saving people one potion at a time. We had to get lawyers involved for a case this past week though. Apparently some wife tried to off her husband by putting some Black Mamba venom in his fire whiskey."

"It seems divorce is just too simple for some people," Ginny shook her head and laughed. "Luckily the head of poison control is there to save those unfortunate lovers."

_So he's the head healer of one of the ward's at Mungo's, _Hermione thought smugly. Draco Malfoy had really turned his life around in ten years.

"How did she even get the venom in the first place?" Harry wondered.

Draco shrugged. "Probably through some illegal means, it's not like we sell it on the streets for whoever wants it. I'm sure they'll find out and then arrest the distributors."

"What about you Hermione? How do you like your new full-time occupation?" Ginny asked.

Hermione immediately stilled. It was the first time all day that she had been asked something she couldn't comfortably gloss over. She had no idea what she did, or how she liked it, and everyone except Ginny had that look like she should be in on some joke or something.

_Damn_. And she had made it through the past twelve hours so well.

This was it. They were going to find out and she was going to have to run away and hide somewhere until the charm wore off and she returned to her real time.

_Here goes nothing…_ she thought as she opened her mouth to speak.

"It's going fine," she said as clearly and unassuming as she could.

"Well I would hope so," Draco chuckled. "It's not like it's anything new to her."

"I don't know, it'd take me some getting used to," Harry said. "I don't think I could do it."

Hermione just smiled and hoped she was hiding her ignorance well enough as she looked back and forth between her husband and her friends.

"But seriously," Harry continued. "You must be going stir crazy."

"Stir crazy?" she blurted out. This time she couldn't mask her puzzlement on time.

"Um, Hermione," Ginny said, quickly rising from her seat and cocking her head towards the door. "Why don't you help me get the dessert out of the kitchen?" Hermione followed her, anxiety creeping its way up her bones.

The minute the kitchen door shut behind them Ginny turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, spill."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione tried to play off, though she knew there was no point. Ginny obviously saw right through her.

"Oh, I don't think so. You've been off all day, barely saying a word, getting slightly jittery the moment someone directs their attention to you as if you're not sure what to say. The others may not have noticed, but don't think I haven't. So tell me, _what _is going on with you?"

Hermione wracked her brain for some excuse for her behavior, but couldn't find any. It was Ginny, though. They had been good friends, dare she say best friends on the girl side of things, and she was a surprisingly good confidant. Maybe telling her the truth wouldn't be so bad.

"Fine. Fine… now this is going to sound weird and completely unbelievable, but you're just going to have to believe me, alright?"

"I'm listening."

"Do you remember learning the Disparem charm in Flitwick's class?"

"Yes, that's the one where you experience two different paths of reality depending on what you choose to do. I remember because that was the spell Ron hit you with when you fell off the bleachers and you were stuck in the hospital wing for days and… why are you looking at me like that?"

Hermione had been grinning and nodding so furiously she was practically bobbing up and down on her toes.

"Are you telling me… this is where you ended up?"

"Yes!" Hermione said, relieved and ecstatic that Ginny wasn't about to send her to the psych ward…yet.

"But, that doesn't make _sense_. You've been jumped nearly ten years!"

"I know! I know. I don't get it either, but it doesn't really matter because I'm here in this life that I've already lived, but I really haven't, and I've been going throughout the day trying to be the Hermione that _has_ without you finding out, and I was doing so well up until this point. I even made it through yesterday without being caught!"

"Yesterday? You were here yesterday, too?"

"Oh, well, no. Yesterday I was married to Ron. He's the first path I took."

"Wow. What was that like?"

"He's a professional Quidditch player, and we live in a serious mansion, and we have two kids, a boy and a girl, Hugo and Rose."

"Well, he's still a famous Quidditch player over here, but his house resembles the Playboy Mansion more than a family one," she snickered.

They were silent for a moment as Ginny just stared at Hermione. "This is so weird."

"You're telling me. One moment I'm at a Quidditch game, the next I'm married to Ron, and then I go to sleep and wake up next to Draco. I'm hoping it ends after tonight."

"And what if it doesn't?"

"I'm just going to have to do what I do best and learn quickly. At least now I have one person I don't have to keep it from."

Ginny smiled and took Hermione's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Thank you for telling me. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'd tell you some things that might help you out, but seeing as you'll probably wake up from this after tonight it'd just be useless information overload."

"Right," Hermione chuckled. "But on the off chance I do end up back here…"

"How about you owl me the moment you wake up? Just write _Disparem_ on the parchment and I'll know it's you."

"And if I don't, you're safe to assume that the real Hermione has reentered her consciousness, or however this time travel stuff works."

"Right."

"So what exactly is my job? I've been wondering all day."

"Well, you _were_ the head editor of the _Daily Prophet_, but after going on maternity leave for Pollux you realized you'd rather be home raising your kids than worrying about giving news to other people, so you're now an official home maker."

"Huh. I never thought I'd be one to give up my career. But I guess after being with these three and the two from yesterday…"

"You understand?" Ginny finished for her with a knowing grin.

"Yeah."

Both of their heads turned as someone came in through the kitchen door.

"Everything alright in here?" Harry said, looking from his wife to his best friend. "You've been in here a while."

"Just trading some child rearing advice," Ginny covered. "We forgot we had sweet toothed men waiting for us."

She went over to fridge and pulled out a graham cracker crust jello dessert.

"I made it just for you," she said to Hermione with a smile before heading out to the dining room, and Hermione knew that whether she woke up back at Hogwarts, back with Ron, or back here with Draco in the morning, Ginny would be there for her.

* * *

><p>"Today was a good day wasn't it?" Draco said as he crawled into the bed next to Hermione. After coming home they had both gotten the kids ready for bed and tucked them in goodnight before retreating to their own room to get ready themselves.<p>

Just like the night before with Ron, Hermione found herself uncomfortable and anxious with this part of her day.

"Yeah, it was," she answered.

"I'll take care of Pollux in the morning so you can sleep a little longer."

"Thanks," she said, though it nearly came out as a squeak due to Draco scooting closer to her.

She tried to calm her nerves as he wrapped an arm around her midsection and pressed himself against her.

"Goodnight," he breathed into her hair.

"Goodnight."

They both jumped as a loud vibrating sound met their ears. Draco grabbed his wand from off his night stand where it he set it down. Besides making the buzzing noise it was flashing a glowing blue.

"_Aus_," he whispered, and it stopped. "It seems one of us won't be sleeping tonight."

He got out of the bed, and Hermione sat up and watched as he grabbed what she assumed were his healer robes out of his closet and put them on.

"Hopefully whatever this is can be fixed quickly. I'll see you in a few hours okay?"

Hermione didn't have a chance to say anything as he kissed her quickly on the lips while saying goodbye, and then apparated away with a pop.

_Well that makes things easier, _Hermione thought, falling back onto the bed.

Like Draco had said, it had been a good day. A _crazy _day, but a good day. And now her healer husband was off to save the day.

As much as she had to think about and process about her past two-day ordeal, she was dead tired. She'd just figure it all out in the morning, back at Hogwarts where she belonged.

So with as clear a mind as she could muster, Hermione closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione woke up with nothing but space beside her, so she knew she couldn't be in her dormitory or the hospital wing. Both held nothing but beds that could fit a single person, and the bed she was in was definitely not made for just a single person.

She counted to three before opening her eyes and then huffed. She was back in the room that resembled a hotel suite more than living quarters, which meant she was back in the life with Ron.

All was quiet, except for the sound of movement trailing in from the bathroom.

She sat up and swung her legs off the bed before pushing herself up into a standing position. Her motions must've been too quick, for a sudden wave of dizziness came over her and she had to grab the edge of the night stand to keep herself from falling over. It passed a moment later, and Hermione once again felt like she did any other day.

"Morning." Ron said as he stepped back into the main room. He was already dressed in a black suit and was fixing his tie around his neck.

"Good morning."

"You okay?" he asked, noticing her unusual stance.

"Yeah, just got up too fast."

"And that's why I always lay in bed an extra five minutes," he chuckled. Satisfied with his tie, he went up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"I have a meeting with my agent this morning, then practice, and then Coach says he has a surprise for us, so I don't know what time I'll be home tonight. Don't wait up for me."

"Umm…alright."

"And don't forget to bring the kids to school and daycare and pick them up. I know I said it would just be last week, but as I've just told you I won't be able to today."

"That's fine. Would you like me to make you breakfast or anything?"

"No, no. I'm already running a little late. I'm sure my agent will have something for me. I'll see you tonight."

And once again, before Hermione could even respond, he pecked her on the lips and shot out the door.

Hermione blinked a few times, making sure she hadn't just dreamed up the last…three minutes- which was ironic considering she was pretty much in a dream anyway.

_I guess I better get the kids ready,_ she thought with a huff. She was hoping she'd get to spend more time with Ron before he left, but it seemed like that wasn't going to be the case.

It didn't take long to get Rose and Hugo ready for their day. It helped that Rose was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She even had three bowls of cereal waiting on the table for her mother and brother when Hermione finally made it downstairs. Hugo had decided to go into terrible twos mode and ran around the whole top landing before becoming tired enough to allow Hermione to dress him.

Hermione looked at the clock, noting that it was nearly 7:45 in the morning. She hadn't the slightest clue as to what time Rose had to be at school, or even where she went to school for that matter.

"Rosie, can you watch your brother for a little bit?"

The little girl nodded, and Hermione headed back upstairs and towards the study. She figured that if she needed to know anything she would be able to find the answer there.

She went up to her desk and found the _Daily Prophet_ already lying on top, letting her know that it was Monday, March 17. Next to it was another letter, sealed with the Ministry crest. She opened it, wondering what the Ministry could have to say to her.

_Hermione, _she read.

_Don't forget we have a meeting with Julian Niemi! It's going to be great! You should wear your white sleeveless blouse with the scoop neck and your black pencil skirt, because let's face it, you look hot when you wear that. And wear your pearl set with it, and red lipstick! _

_Love,_

_Madeline_

Hermione finished reading the note and promptly took a seat in her chair.

She had completely forgotten that she might actually have a job in this world. So now she had two things she had to figure out, and fast.

She decided to search for information she'd need to get Rose to school first.

_Okay Hermione. You're a highly organized person, _she thought as she pulled open the first drawer on her desk's left. _Chances are you have all Rose's important school stuff in file._

Just as she had suspected, the drawer held a selection of different files. She leafed through them as quickly as she could while reading each label, and gave a small "Yes!" when she found one with Rose's name on it.

There were a few drawings, and papers where Rose had practiced her writing, but nothing signifying what school she went to.

"Dammit," Hermione said as she put the file back in its place and shut the drawer closed. She frantically eyed around the room, trying to think of other places she would be able to find something. As she spun around in her chair she noticed for the first time surprisingly, a bulletin board on the wall right next to the door. She went up to it and drew her eyes to the paper on the board that was so bright a pink it should've been outlawed, and tore it down as she read the first line.

_Upcoming Events for the First-Graders of Albus Dumbledore School for Pre-Hogwarts Education:_

It was followed by a list of events that Hermione didn't even bother reading, skipping straight to the bottom where she found what she was looking for: The address and telephone number for the school. Without even taking time to marvel that the school had a phone number, she hurried back to her room with the paper in hand and grabbed her mobile.

"Good morning, Albus Dumbledore School, Milana speaking,"

"Hello. I was just wondering what time school started,"

"School begins at 8:30 and ends at 2:00 in the afternoon."

"Thank you," Hermione said, and she hung up the phone, taking a deep breath now that she knew she had a little less than an hour to figure out where she worked. It was a much better scenario than the five minutes she thought she had.

Crying suddenly broke out from the floor below, and she ran out. Being a mother was exhausting.

"What's going on?" she said as she appeared back in the dining room where she caught Rose and Hugo in a tug-of-war with a pink, purple-spotted backpack.

"Hugo won't let go of my backpack!" Rosie shrieked.

"Hugo, darling, this is Rosie's backpack. We'll get you your own later okay?"

Hermione pried the little boy's hand off the bag and handed it to a grateful Rose. "Why don't you two sit and watch the telly for a bit before school. Mummy has something she has to do."

Hermione picked up Hugo and headed for the living room, a skipping Rose on her heels. She set them down on the couch and turned on the TV, finding an acceptable children's show to leave it on before hurrying back to the study.

She searched around for the twenty minutes, but didn't find anything, much to her frustration. She'd just have to show up at the Ministry and wing it. Her stomach flopped uncomfortably at the thought.

"Alright, kiddos, let's go," she said, returning to the living room, and shutting off the TV. She took Hugo's hand and waited for Rose to get on her backpack before taking hers, then apparated to the school.

They arrived in a courtyard already bustling with other students. Rose tugged her mother in the direction of the classroom, saving Hermione from having to awkwardly ask her where it was.

"You have a great day at school, Rosie," she said when they reached the door. The teacher was already inside, starting off the children who had arrived before they had.

"I will Mummy." Rose gave her a hug and a kiss before going into the room.

One thing-to-do down, one more to go.

"Hermione!"

Hermione turned to see a ten-years-older Luna Lovegood coming towards her, turnip earrings and all.

"Fancy seeing you here this morning," she said. "How are things in the Wizard and Muggle Relations Department?"

"They're fine." _Thank you Luna! _"I actually better head over there."

"Aren't you going to bring Hugo to daycare first?"

Hermione blinked and then brought her attention to the son she had forgotten she was holding. "Oh, yes. Of course," she laughed.

"I can take him if you like."

"Could you? That would be great!"

"No problem Hermione. I have to go back anyway, I forgot to put a Nefarious Nimbflies repelling bracelet on Lysander."

Luna then apparated away with Hugo to wherever his daycare center was, and Hermione apparated back home to prepare herself for whatever the Ministry had in store for her.

* * *

><p>"Oh my gosh. Did I say that you'd look hot in this outfit? Did I say that?"<p>

"Yes, Madeline you did say that," Hermione laughed. Madeline had been waiting for her the minute she apparated into the Ministry, and didn't waste a second in stating that she was a genius. So far, Hermione liked her, even though she knew nothing about her.

"Here's your Cinnamon Dolce Latte, as tradition on days like these." Madeline thrust a coffee cup into Hermione's hand as they began walking towards the lifts. "I set up an appointment with the head of that muggle movie company to discuss a wizard's movie industry. I sent your proposal of airing Quidditch on muggle TV and allowing muggles to attend games. And we received a call from a parent whose child attends a muggle school and accidentally set the pretend stove on fire. Richards has been sent to take care of the situation. And Sawyer sent his brief for his presentation at 1:30 for you to read. And I made lunch reservations at that sushi place you love, so I hope you didn't eat a big breakfast because it is _buffet day!"_

"Wow, Madeline-"

"I know, I'm the best assistant ever."

"Yes, you are."

Luck was really on Hermione's side today. She hoped it would last with her.

"Oh my gosh." That was all she could say when she opened the door to her office.

It was the size of her childhood home's living room, had sea green painted walls, and dark wood furniture. It even had a cream colored Victorian couch against one of the walls. Hanging on the walls were various plaques and awards that she had received over the years. And, of course, there was a bookshelf filled with various tomes.

"Yes, I know, you're office is amazing!" Madeline said excitedly. "You looked like you were having such a bad week the last time I saw you, so I had it painted!"

"I… thank you."

"Okay, here's everything you'll need for the meeting."

Madeline handed her a portfolio and a pen case, and then pulled out a perfume bottle. She proceeded to spray Hermione on the neck and then her free wrist.

"Rub together."

"Are we seeing someone special?" Hermione asked as she did as she was told.

"I love you sarcasm. We better go now. Don't want to be late!"

They weren't late, and though whether Julian Niemi was special or not was still up for debate, he sure was handsome.

"You remember I'm married right?" Hermione whispered to Madeline as they sat across the table from the crisply dressed man. He hadn't taken his eyes off her since she entered the room.

"Of course, but that doesn't mean we aren't allowed to use your assets to our advantage."

Too bad all of Hermione's nerves were currently focused on what she was going to say during the meeting, or else they certainly be geared toward him.

"Stare any harder at her Niemi and she'll spontaneously combust," the voice of Draco Malfoy said as he walked into the room. Hermione immediately felt the butterflies occupying her stomach multiply ten-fold. "Maybe you should stare at the ring on her finger instead. Hey, Granger."

Hermione half expected him to kiss her on the cheek in greeting, but then she remembered that she was in the life where he wasn't her husband.

"Malfoy, nice of you to join us," Julian said, clearly not bothered by being caught. "I hope you don't mind. I invited him to the meeting to have some of his input."

"That's fine." Hermione smiled at Draco, and he just returned it with his usual smirk. It suddenly felt very hot in the room.

"Let's begin. We are here to discuss having Muggle Studies as a mandatory class for all seven years of Hogwarts. I think it should remain as an elective for only the first four years, and you of course respectively disagree."

_Thank goodness_, Hermione thought. This was a subject she could say something about.

"Why shouldn't it be mandatory all seven years?" She queried.

"Considering that they'd still be taking the core classes at the same time, there's simply not room for it. Add to that the fact that they have no real use for it unless they plan on spending significant time in the muggle world."

"I see your point Mr. Niemi, but I think that considering we'll be introducing many muggle inventions to the wizarding world, and beginning to integrate more with them, that having Muggle Studies all seven years would be quite _useful_ for the students."

"Malfoy, what do you think."

"I think both of you make excellent points, but you could implement the Muggle Studies program in a more efficient way than all or nothing. Why don't you make it mandatory for some of the years and elective for the others?"

Julian didn't seem to like this idea, for he started an excessive rant on how Muggle Studies should only be mandatory for one year, if at all. Hermione found herself developing a headache, and a nauseating smell she had been ignoring for a while was starting to affect her, though it seemed to go unnoticed by everyone else.

"You okay Granger?" Draco asked, and she looked up to find all eyes worriedly on her. The one motion brought on a wave of dizziness more powerful than the one she had this morning, and she knew she'd have to find a bathroom right away. Or at least a rubbish bin.

She didn't even have time to say _"I think I'm going to be sick,"_ before dashing out the door and to her office, which was thankfully just down the corridor, to the left, and then to the right.

"Hermione!" Madeline came into the room just in time to save Hermione's hair from getting puke on it. "Maybe you should take the rest of the day off. You don't look well at _all_."

Hermione stood up and grabbed a tissue and wiped her mouth. "Maybe I should."

"I'll go reschedule the meeting with Julian and everything else. You go home and rest okay?"

"Thanks, Madeline."

* * *

><p>Hermione apparated home feeling much better than she had only a short time ago. She probably could've stayed at the Ministry and worked a bit more, but it was probably for the best considering she didn't know too much about her job.<p>

She spent the next few hours cooped up in her study, analyzing every nook and cranny, and skimming through a few of the books she had on her bookshelf. By two o'clock she had a better grasp on the life she was living in this time, and felt she would be able to get through the rest of the day without any mishaps.

She apparated to Rose's school, retracing her steps to her classroom, reaching it just as the teacher dismissed the students.

"Hi Mummy!" Rose squealed excitedly, jumping into Hermione's arms.

"It's a pleasure to see you again Mrs. Weasley," the teacher greeted.

"Hmm?"

"Usually Mr. Weasley picks up Rose, or his sister,"

"Oh, yes. Mr. Weasley got caught up with work today, and I got off early, so I thought I'd come get her,"

"Well don't be a stranger!"

Hermione smiled at Rose's teacher before ushering her daughter off to the apparition point, feeling a little dizzy again and wanting to get home as soon as possible.

She picked up Hugo from his daycare, which she had found the address for after going through a stack of random papers on her desk. The worker there didn't say anything to her other than _Hello_, and _Hugo was a great boy, just as usual_, so Hermione was able to get out of there quickly.

The minute she returned home she set him down and went straight for the couch, lying down and taking deep breaths.

"Are you okay Mummy?" Rose asked, staring at her from the side of the couch.

"I just haven't been feeling well today Rosie."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Water would be nice,"

"Okay," Rose smiled, and she skipped to the kitchen. She came back a couple minutes later with a glass of water and a letter in her hands. "An owl dropped this at the window."

"Thank you," Hermione said, taking the water and the letter, taking a few sips of her drink before opening the post.

_Hermione,_

_You should come over for dinner tonight. 6 o'clock. Don't worry about bringing anything, except your kids!_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Hermione found a pen (another muggle invention the wizarding world had smartly decided to adopt), and replied on the back of the parchment, letting Ginny know they would be there.

She had been planning on asking Ginny over after the kids had gone to bed, but her friend beat her to the punch. She had decided that she was going to tell this Ginny everything. After all, she told Draco-Life-Ginny everything and it turned out fine, so she hoped she could tell Ron-Life-Ginny everything and have the same results.

* * *

><p>Hermione arrived at the Potter's house promptly at six with her two kids in tow, and, just like her and Malfoy's kids the day before, they ran as fast they could towards the Potter kids and left the adults alone in the living room.<p>

"So Ron didn't want to come?" Ginny asked, handing Hermione a piece of buttered bread.

"Of course he didn't want to come," Harry said with a scoff. "As far as he's concerned we're traitors to the entire wizarding world. Luckily Hermione's married to him."

"Ron's actually still at work, so I just sent him an owl that we'd be here."

"He's so stupid," Ginny exasperated. "Just because we're not treating Malfoy like a pariah, he doesn't want to associate with us. Really Hermione, the only time we talk to him, or even see him is at family functions and if we decide to turn on the telly and watch his games."

"I know," Hermione answered._ That's why Draco wanted to know if Ron was with us or not the other day, _she realized.

"How about we don't talk about Ron anymore?" Harry suggested with a forced grin. "I'll get the kids."

"Harry's still really upset with Ron," Ginny sighed.

"I can tell," Hermione was all Hermione said, though she was burning with unanswered questions. She'd just have to ask them later.

Dinner went by smoothly, unlike her dinner the night before. Harry and Ginny didn't ask or mention anything she couldn't respond to, and although she was anxiously waiting for the moment when she could talk to Ginny, she managed to keep herself cool and her voice even.

Finally, the two of them were alone in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes, while Harry was playing with the kids.

"…So then I guess Amanda told Lily that she doesn't have a soul, and it just went downhill from there. We've been trying to tell her that the color of her hair is fine and that she does have a soul and that it's just a joke and not to be taken seriously, but she's still insisting on having us color her hair. Hopefully if we just keep shutting her down it'll blow over. But if it doesn't… Hermione don't you have anything to say? You always have something to say."

"Oh…um… don't color Lily's hair, it's a beautiful color."

Ginny eyed her skeptically before speaking again. "Okay. Spill. What is on your mind right now? You think I didn't notice your little distracted expressions during dinner? Because I did. You can't fool me Hermione Jane Granger."

Hermione took a deep breath and then, just as she had planned, let everything out. She felt like she was having déjà vu with the way she started out and the way Ginny responded, but that was a good thing.

"Man, I'm so lucky I'm not you," Ginny laughed.

"Why not? You could be experiencing what life would've been like with… Neville, or…Blaise Zabini."

"_What?!"_

"I noticed those glances you guys gave each other during our final year," Hermione smirked.

"Fine, you caught me. But obviously Harry's the only one for me seeing that I'm married to him in both your realities."

"Why does Ron dislike Draco so much?" Hermione asked. "Draco's paid for his crimes and become a completely different man- for the most part."

"Yeah, well Ron still doesn't want to see it. Draco's the one part of the dark side of the war that managed to sneak into our lives, and though the rest of us are okay with it, Ron's still harboring a grudge. Harry keeps telling him to just grow up, but he just doesn't want to do it."

"I never got through to him?"

"He made it pretty clear at your wedding that it was either him or Malfoy, and seeing as you already had Rose, you chose Ron."

"What did he do?"

"Well, Ron had been pretty vague with his dislike of Malfoy up until that point, tolerating him whenever we invited him to things. We thought he was fine with you inviting Malfoy to the wedding, but it turned out he wasn't. He made you uninvite him right before the ceremony started. You felt so bad, but Malfoy said he understood, and left peacefully."

"So… I'm not allowed to talk to, or see Draco or what?"

"If you do you don't tell him about it; don't want to unleash the beast."

"Excuse me ladies," Harry said as he peeked into the kitchen. "All the kids are falling asleep."

"We better get home then," Hermione sighed.

"I'll help you bring them down."

Harry left, and Hermione reached over to Ginny to give her a hug good-bye.

"I'll see you tomorrow…though which you it will be I'm not sure."

"Just owl me if you return here, and I'll reply right away."

"Thanks for picking up Rose from school when Ron and I can't by the way."

Ginny threw Hermione a strange look, furrowing her eyebrow in confusion. "I've never picked up Rose from school," she said slowly. "Not that I wouldn't if you needed me to."

"But her teacher said that either he or his sister picks Rose up…"

"Well whoever this 'sister' is it's not me."

"That's… disconcerting. I'll have to ask Ron about that,"

"I can't believe him. I would kill Harry if I found out he was having someone I don't know pick up my kids."

"Maybe it was just a misunderstanding. Maybe it's Luna, or Hannah, or Lavender, or one of our other friends."

"I don't know how you could mistake any of them for a Weasley, but just talk to Ron and find out for sure."

* * *

><p>Hermione once again went through the routine of putting her kids to bed. She wished Ron had been there to do it with her; it had been nice teaming up with Draco during that part of the day.<p>

She got herself ready, but instead of turning in for the night she went back down stairs to the theater room and decided to watch a movie. She knew Ron had told her not to wait up for him, but she was going to try to anyway.

Her eyes were near to drooping all the way when Ron apparated in, one movie and a half later.

"Hello," he smiled as he walked into the theater. "I thought I heard a movie playing."

He stood himself right in front of her, and before she could even return his hello he leaned forward and attached his lips to hers.

_I really need to get used to these surprise attacks, _she thought as he pressed himself up against her, pushing her further into the lounge chair she was on.

This kiss was much different than any he had given her before, in real life and this one. It was intense, and demanding, and Hermione wasn't even sure she really had any part in at all. All she knew that her heart was beating so erratically she thought it was going to burst from her chest. He pulled away for a moment, and she thought that was the end of it, when he swung her legs around either side of him and lifted her up. She barely had time to take a breath before he was kissing her again, just as ferociously.

It wasn't until he threw her on the bed and positioned himself on top of her that the butterflies began to settle in at an extremely high rate.

Hermione had never been intimate with _anyone _before. She had only had three boyfriends in her life: Krum, a muggle boy from her hometown named Brandon, and Ron. The most she had ever done with any of them was kiss, though she had allowed Brandon to put his hand on her butt in a one time lapse in judgment.

Now Ron was running his hands up her thigh and taking the nightdress she had decided to wear tonight with it. Things were clearly going into uncharted territory, and even though _she _had never gone this far before, the Hermione that was Ron's wife obviously had.

She suddenly wondered why it never occurred to her that she might end up in this position.

_Just go for it Hermione_, she thought just as her dress went over her head. Ron's attention was now focused on her neck, and she knew there was no way she was going to make him stop.

So she went for it.

* * *

><p>"We need to do this more often." Ron said, skimming his hand across her shoulder.<p>

"Yeah."

Hermione was trying not to blush, and she was thankful that he couldn't see her face and that the lights were off.

_I can't believe I just did that._

All those things Ginny and Lavender had told her about sex were true. It was _amazing_. She wondered why anyone ever got out of bed to do anything else. She had never felt so uninhibited in her life, and she hoped she'd be able to walk straight in the morning.

And she had done it with Ron. That made it even better. It made it worth it.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"It was alright. It had its finer points. I dropped Rose and Hugo off and then went to work. I had a meeting about Muggle Studies with Julian Niemi and Malfoy, but I ended up not making it to the end because-"

"You were at a meeting with Malfoy?"

She felt Ron stiffen behind her, before he removed his arm from around her shoulder. She fell back against the headboard with a thud.

"Well the meeting was just supposed to be with Niemi, but he invited Malfoy so-"

"Why would he invite Malfoy? What would Malfoy have to say about Muggle Studies except that he thinks it's detrimental to wizard society?"

"Actually, he thinks Muggle Studies is a good idea-"

"Whatever, I don't want to hear or talk about Malfoy anymore," Ron snarled, effectively ending the subject. Neither of them said anything for a few good minutes, and Hermione thought that Ron had fallen asleep until he spoke again. "So what else happened today?" He mumbled.

Hermione wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him anymore. They had just done something incredible and momentous, at least for her, and he had ruined it by getting upset over something she had had no control over. She could've pretended she was asleep and didn't hear him, but she found her mouth opening instead. "I felt ill so they sent me home. I picked up the kids and then we went over to Harry and Ginny's for dinner. Then we came home."

She hoped mentioning Harry and Ginny didn't trigger another anger outburst. If it did she'd go sleep in one of the guest rooms.

It had been at least ten seconds since she had finished talking and he still hadn't said anything. Hermione turned over onto to her side to look at him, and then scoffed.

He had fallen asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Hello again :) Thank you to those who have followed, favorite, and reviewed this story. I really appreciate it, and it's nice to know how you're feeling about where this story is going. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it!

* * *

><p>Hermione woke up the next morning fully prepared to find herself in Draco's bed, and she did- only Draco wasn't in it.<p>

_He must still be at Mungo's_.

She found it a little awkward to be waking up in Draco's bed, considering that just the night before she had been with Ron in _his _bed doing the mattress mambo. It didn't keep her from smiling like a crazy woman though.

She got out of bed just as Scorpius ran in, Ariel right behind him.

"Good morning Mummy!" he said, jumping up and down. "Guess what today is! Guess what today is!"

"Umm… I don't know, what's today?"

"THE ZOO!"

"We're going to the zoo?"

"Noooo, _I'm _going to the zoo. On my field trip!"

"_Oh_. Well we better get you ready then!"

"I'll go change my clothes!"

Scorpius zipped back out of the room, leaving Hermione, Ariel, and an air of hyperactivity behind.

"Can I go to the zoo too, Mummy?" Ariel asked sweetly.

"I'm sorry Ari, but only Scorpius will get to go to the zoo today. We can ask Daddy if he'll take us another day alright?"

Hermione could see the tears developing in Ariel's eyes, and as great as she had been doing with kids the past few days, she wasn't ready to handle a crying child. "How about you and I have another Mummy and Ari day? We'll do something fun together while Scorpius is at the zoo."

Ariel's face brightened, and a second later she was running out the room, just like her brother before her.

_Well, _Hermione let out a breath. _Time to get ready for another day in the life of Hermione Malfoy._

She went over to her desk and wrote a quick letter to Ginny, just like they had discussed, before going to take care of her three children.

* * *

><p>"I slept with Ron last night."<p>

Those were the first words out of Hermione's mouth when Ginny arrived at her house a little over an hour later. She had just gotten back from dropping Scorpius off at school, and Ariel was playing with her dolls, while Pollux was in his playpen. It had left her enough space in her mind to think about everything she had to tell Ginny, and apparently that she had slept with Ron was the most important.

"Okay…" Ginny pulled her purse off her shoulder and sat on the couch next to her friend. "Thank you for waiting the two seconds it takes for Lily to run off before saying it. And as much as I want to hear about your sexcapades with my brother, why don't we start from the beginning of your yesterday?"

Hermione told her all about the meeting with Julian Niemi and Draco, the falling ill, dinner at the Ron-Life-Potter's house, and how she told the other Ginny everything.

"I really am an awesome friend." Ginny said smugly.

"Of course are. Anyway, Ron wasn't home when we got back," Hermione continued. "So I put the kids to bed and then put on a movie. That was where he found me when he did get home, and then he kissed me and-"

"Oh my god, you did the deed in a chair in your home theater?!"

"_No. _He _brought_ me to our _bedroom_. You really should wait until I'm done talking before you comment."

"I know, I'm sorry. So… how was it? But please don't get too detailed because this is my brother we're talking about."

"It was… _wonderful. _I didn't even know it was possible to feel that great, and now I know that it is."

"And that is why me and you have three kids each. I swear, you and Draco wouldn't leave your bedroom if you didn't have to," Ginny smirked, but she stopped the moment she saw Hermione's face. "But we're talking about you and Ron right now, not the three kids you have with Draco," she said quickly.

Hermione groaned and tucked her face in her hands. "Did I cheat on Draco? I hadn't even thought of it that way till now, but…"

"Hermione, stop. You did not cheat on anybody okay? You're married to two different people, in two separate lives, and whatever you do in either of those lives has no affect on the other. If you sleep with the one that's your husband where you are then you are absolutely fine. Just don't sleep with the one that's not your husband."

"You're right, you're completely right," Hermione calmed herself, taking a breath.

"Let's talk about what Rose's teacher said. If someone you don't know is picking up Rose you need to know who it is pronto. That's the first thing you need to ask Ron or her teacher about, whoever you see first."

"You don't think it's anything to worry about do you?"

"I honestly don't know… there could be many reasons he said someone who was not his sister is his sister,"

"Like?"

"The teacher might not want your friends picking up your kids, or…maybe he was joking…?"

"Thanks for your assurance, as unconvincing as it is," Hermione grumbled.

"Okay, how about we not worry about Ron life while you're in Draco life?"

"I think I like that idea."

They spent the next few hours taking the girls and Pollux around muggle London, and talking instead about Hermione's life with Draco.

According to Ginny they had gotten together during their final year of Hogwarts after she and Ron had broken up. Ron had become overly possessive and overbearing, and Hermione couldn't take it anymore so she called it quits. She and Draco began spending more time together and became an official couple in May. It was quite an event for the students of Hogwarts, and it took another month for them to stop commenting on it. It didn't take long for their friends to get used to their relationship because they saw it coming anyway. And Ron was upset for a couple of weeks before removing his head from his ass and realizing Hermione was happy.

They had a bit of a rough patch after graduation because Hermione had decided to spend a year seeing the world with her parents. They were actually broken up during this time, though neither of them saw anybody else, and they owled each other almost every day. While she was away Draco began going to St. Mungo's Medical Academy to become a healer and further distance himself from his Death Eater background.

When Hermione came back to London they picked up from where they left off, and she started working in the Department of Wizard and Muggle Relations at the Ministry. On Christmas 2000 they were taking a walk around her parents' neighborhood when he asked her to move in with him, and she said that if they were going to move in together they might as well get married. That's when Draco pulled out an engagement ring and asked her to marry him, and, of course, she said yes. They got married and honeymooned for two weeks in France.

The first place they lived was a small flat in London, and they were there until Hermione became pregnant with Ariel. That's when they moved into the house they live in now. Hermione became head of her department in 2004, and Draco became Head of his not long after.

"We've had a pretty great life haven't we?" Hermione smiled once Ginny had finished.

"You have. And Merlin that man loves you, though he may not always say it. I know, because I asked you about it once. You told me Draco's more subtle when it comes to his declarations of love, and when I actually started paying attention instead of just listening for some three word phrase, I saw it. It was everywhere. It was like I had entered a _Draco Loves Hermione _tornado. It was like-"

"I get it Ginny," Hermione laughed. "Draco loves me."

Although Hermione had already spent a full day as Draco's wife, and had come into this day knowing that's what she was, it was still strange hearing someone say that he loved her. She had wrapped her head around the marriage part, but it seemed she was still working on the love part.

"Where are my parents?"

"They moved back to Australia after you got married to Draco. They come for every birthday and holiday, and you've gone over there a couple times."

"That's nice."

Hermione's parents never shut up about Australia in her real life, so it didn't surprise her that they had decided to go back. She liked that they were still close though.

"We should head back over to Diagon Alley," Ginny said, noticing the time. "School will be getting out soon."

They made it back to the Leaky Cauldron, and the moment Hermione stepped in she knew something wasn't right with her. She swayed a little on her feet, using Pollux's stroller to keep her steady, and then she felt her stomach turn in a way that could only mean one thing. Covering her mouth she ran as quickly as she could to the bathroom.

"You okay Hermione?" she heard Ginny ask from outside the stall she was in, hunched over a toilet.

"I think so. I guess my stomach just didn't like what we had for lunch today." She stood up from her hunched position over the toilet, feeling much better than she had a few moments ago, and went to wash up at the sink.

"How about you apparate home with Pollux and the girls, and I'll get the boys."

"Alright."

Hermione returned home and chugged down a glass of water the moment the kids were settled.

_What is going on with me? _She thought. She didn't think being sick would transfer realities, but apparently it did. Maybe it had to do something with the charm?

Ginny appeared a couple minutes later with the boys, all three wiped out from their day.

"Why don't you just rest for a while? And if you feel better then come over for game night, but if you don't then you stay put and get well. Got it?"

"Yes nurse Ginny," Hermione chuckled.

She really did suddenly feel better. It seemed that whatever this was just liked to come and go. Hopefully it was over.

…

"Hey," Draco smiled as he came into the room.

Hermione couldn't suppress the happy feeling that filled her the moment she saw him. She didn't realize how much she had missed him all morning and afternoon until he was there in front of her.

"How are you? Ginny owled and said you got sick earlier today."

"She owled you?"

"Would you expect any less of her? This is Ginny we're talking about." He laughed as he took a seat next to her. "So how do you feel?"

"I'm fine. It was just a little disagreement between my lunch and my stomach."

"You sure?"

"I'm _fine,_ Draco. How was work?"

"Crazy. There was an explosion in a potion manufacturing facility, that's why they needed me last night. We've been handling the victims all day. Just got the last one out about an hour ago."

"You must be tired."

"Yeah, but not tired enough to miss out on game night, or to spend some time with you." He leaned onto her so that his head was resting on her shoulder.

"I could actually use a nap…if you want to take one with me."

Hermione wasn't sure where she was getting her boldness from, but she knew Draco liked it from the way he was leering at her.

"We can do that."

Draco picked her up in his arms and then carried her up to the stairs to their room, setting her gently on their side of the bed. He pulled back the covers and Hermione maneuvered herself under them as he got in himself, laying close to her.

He stared at her for a couple of seconds, causing Hermione to blush and suddenly become self-conscious. She almost regretted asking him to join her. Almost.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said with a small smile. He lifted his hand to stroke the side of her face with his knuckles, before leaning in to press his lips to hers. It wasn't long, but it was sweet and it sent warmth all the way down to Hermione's toes. He lay back against his pillow, spooning Hermione into him, and it was in this position that they both fell asleep.

They woke up a couple hours later to the sound of their children running around without supervision. Both Scorpius and Ariel were excited to find that their father was home, and the latter of the two wasted no time in jumping into his arms. Hermione went to get Pollux from his room while Draco allowed the other two to tackle him to the ground.

"Alright, what do you want for dinner?" Hermione asked them once she returned, a wriggling Pollux in her arms. He reached his arms out for Draco, so she passed him over. She smiled as she watched Draco surrounded by the three kids, and she really wished she had a camera at that moment.

"Chicken nuggets!" Scorpius yelled, while Ariel shouted, "French fries!"

"Baaah!" Pollux added.

"I'm thinking McDonald's seems the way to go tonight," Draco laughed.

"That does sound good," Hermione agreed. _That sounds really good. _She suddenly imagined herself sinking her teeth into a Big Mac and some French fries, and she had to keep herself from drooling. The image didn't leave her mind for the entire time it took for them to leave the house, get to the restaurant, and order their food.

"Someone's hungry," Draco smirked as he watched Hermione devour her burger.

"My lunch didn't go so well if you recall," Hermione said, jabbing him in the side and taking another bite. She really must've been hungry though, because once she finished both her burger and fries, she proceeded to help Ariel down the rest of her chicken nuggets.

"I haven't seen you eat this much since-"

Hermione glared at Draco, stopping whatever he was going to say. "Since…?" she prompted, but her expression must've scared him away.

"Nevermind," he said, but he continued to grin as he turned to Pollux and helped him take a sip of his drink.

Hermione really wanted to know what he was going to say, but decided to drop it. It probably didn't matter anyway.

* * *

><p>Hermione and Draco had arrived at the Potters' a little after seven, sending Scorpius and Ariel upstairs with the others, and though they were on time, they were the last to get there. Ron and his girlfriend Juliet were already sitting in the living room, along with Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson, a couple Hermione was very surprised to see.<p>

"So what's the game tonight Ginny?" Blaise asked, Pansy sitting comfortably in his lap.

"It's called Say Anything," Ginny answered. "I'll explain it to you when I get back with the snacks. Hermione could you come help me?"

Hermione nodded, and handed Pollux over to Draco before following her friend into the kitchen.

"I saw the look on your face when you saw them in there, so I thought I better explain," Ginny began. "When you started dating Draco we also became friends with Blaise and Pansy. Blaise was actually Draco's best man, and Pansy was one of your bridesmaids. And they're Ariel's godparents."

"So I like them?" Hermione clarified.

"Yes. Just not more than me and Harry, because we're the best," Ginny winked. "Oh, and they just got engaged last night. Okay, now that that's out of the way, I really do need your help with the snacks. So if you could just grab that bowl of strawberries it would be great."

Everyone was talking to one another when Hermione and Ginny came back into the room. "I think we'll have a winter wedding," Pansy said, taking a strawberry out of the bowl Hermione had just set down.

"But it will be so cold!" Juliet said.

"That's what warming charms are for."

"Alright," Ginny said, getting everyone's attention. Hermione took the seat next to Draco, and tried not to blush when he took his hand in hers not a second later. "I'd like to say congratulations to Blaise and Pansy for _finally _deciding to take the next step. And also I'd like to announce that you are looking at the new captain for the Holyhead Harpies!"

"That's great Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, along with the cheers and congratulations of everyone else.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I just found out yesterday. We're going to go out tomorrow night and celebrate if any of you would like to join us."

"We'll be there," Draco said just as Hermione was about to say that _she'd _be there. She found that she liked what he said better though.

"Okay, why don't we start the game? It's called Say Anything," Ginny began to explain, and she handed out pads of paper and a pencil to everyone. "There's a stack of questions that you draw from on your turn and read to the group. Everyone writes down their answer and puts it on the table as fast as they can. The person whose turn it is then reads them out loud and then chooses the answer that they like the best. They then give it to the person who wrote it. Whoever has the most papers back after all the questions have been asked is the winner."

"Sounds simple enough," Ron said. "I'll have you all beat at the end of this."

"Dream on buddy. Okay, I'll ask the first question." Ginny picked the first card from the stack and then read it out. "Oh, this is a good one to start with: Out of all the current players, who would survive a horror movie?"

There was a bit of laughter as everyone hastily began to write down their response and throw their papers on the table. Hermione was the first one with her response, answering with _Harry_.

Ginny gathered up the papers once everyone had put an answer in and went through them. "Okay, we have Harry, Harry, Harry, _Draco_, Harry, Hermione, and Draco. Well, I'm a little put out that I'm not there, but I think I'll have to go with… Hermione."

"_What?_" Harry said with a betrayed look on his face. Hermione just smirked at him and shrugged. "But I'm the Boy-Who-Lived!"

"Think about it! Hermione's too smart to get into those situations where people get killed by psycho maniacs. Like, she would never go into a dodgy building by herself, or _not _turn on the lights, or separate herself from the group. Plus, she can run like an Olympian."

There were grumbles of agreement from everyone, as Ginny presented her reasoning. "Thanks, Gin," Hermione beamed.

"So who put _Hermione_ as their answer?"

"I did," Draco said with a sly grin.

"Of course it was you," Ginny said with a roll of her eyes as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. She then handed his paper back to him as proof he had won that round and vanished the rest. "Alright. Blaise's turn."

"This should be an easy one," he said as he read his card. "Who is the sexiest person on the planet?" There was a fluster of pens on paper as everyone answered and then threw their responses to Blaise. "We have _Jude Law_, Hermione, Juliet, _Leonardo Dicaprio, _Ginny,_ Henry Cavill_, and _Jonathan Rhys Meyers_. Looks like we know how our significant others feel about us, eh? Who the hell are these guys?"

"Jude Law is Dickie in The Talented Mr. Ripley," Ginny said, biting her bottom lip in lust.

"Jonathan Rhys Meyers is Henry the VIII on The Tudors," Juliet grinned saucily.

"And Henry Cavill plays Charles Brandon on it," Pansy licked her lips.

"Leonardo Dicaprio is Jack in Titanic," Hermione sighed. Draco had been looking at her from the moment Blaise had finished reading off the responses with his eyebrows raised.

"Thanks," he said. "Now I know whose face I have to go mess up."

"Please don't, I won't be able to look at him again."

"That's the point," he grumbled.

"I think I'm going to have to go with Leonardo Dicaprio if he's got Draco beat," Blaise joked, handing the paper over to Hermione.

"Are you admitting that I'm sexy Blaise?"

"Yes- but not sexier than me, and I unfortunately was not listed."

"Watch out Hermione, looks like you have some competition." Pansy teased.

"Well if Blaise and Draco decide to profess their undying love for each other, I'll go shack up with Leo." Hermione smirked.

"Anybody you decide to shack up with would be dead before you stepped inside," Draco said, pulling Hermione onto his lap and kissing her on the cheek.

"It's your turn Juliet. Hurry before Draco and Hermione need to get a room," Ginny joked, causing Hermione's face to redden.

They continued to ask each other questions from the stack of cards, until they had gone around the group three times, and only Draco had one more question to read.

"Okay, final question. If you could go back in time and change only one thing in your life what would it be?"

This was the first question that Hermione really had to think about. She'd always felt that whatever happened, happened, and there was no use in wondering what you would go back and change because you wouldn't be able to change it anyway. Now that she thought about it however, she realized that there was one thing she had done that she wished she could erase. She quickly wrote it down on her paper and threw it into the pile along with everyone else's answers.

"Let's see what we got here. _My parents would be alive, _okay that one's Harry's obviously. _Sleeping with Natalie Lawrence_, _watching Nightmare on Elm Street, telling Gabriel and Christina Davis I was a witch, I would go to New York, getting that pixie cut, _and _getting rid of my super power._ Okay, I'm going to go with _sleeping with Natalie Lawrence_, because having all your stuff stolen by your lover really sucks."

"I know!" Ron said, taking the paper Draco was handing him.

"Wait, I want to know who said what for that one." Ginny said, looking at everyone in the group. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "I'll start. Mine was the pixie cut one as most of you know. _So_ not a good look for my face."

"I said watching _Nightmare on Elm Street_," Pansy admitted. "I couldn't sleep for a week, and who knows when I'll be able to take a bath again."

"It wasn't _that _bad." Blaise rolled his eyes at her, earning a punch in the arm.

"Says the man who didn't want to go downstairs and get me a glass of water afterwards."

"_Okay_. I said getting rid of my super power," Blaise said, changing the subject back. "I used to be able to read minds."

"Yeah," Pansy scoffed. "Alright, _Edward_."

"No, he really could," Draco defended. "One time I was thinking, _I should ask Hermione to marry me_, and as soon as I finished that thought he looked at me and said, _'Do it mate'_. It was pretty crazy. You should thank him, Love."

It took a second for Hermione to realize Draco was talking to her. "Thank you Blaise," she said, smiling at him.

"So you got rid of this super power of yours?" Pansy said skeptically.

"Yeah, it was weird. I had this dream where you found out and made me choose between you and reading people's minds, and I said you. When I woke up in the morning I couldn't do it anymore. It was really upsetting."

"How terrible to be like the rest of us."

"_Okay…_which one was yours Juliet?" Ginny asked.

"Going to New York. I had the opportunity to go for a modeling job, but I decided to stay here in London instead. I always wish I had gone."

"But then you wouldn't have me," Ron said smoothly.

"I guess it's a good thing, I didn't go then." They pressed their foreheads together, making everyone look away, and Blaise do a fake gag.

"They're worse than us, Pans."

"Alright, that leaves with us with Hermione," Ginny interjected, once again bringing back the focus.

"I said that I wouldn't have told Gabriel and Christina Davis that I was a witch."

"Gabriel and Christina? You've never mentioned them before."

Hermione froze for a second, thinking that she had just given away that she wasn't from here. She relaxed when she realized it was something the real Hermione had never shared before. She was still okay.

"They were my childhood friends," she explained. "I thought they'd be fine with it, but they just thought I was a freak and never spoke to me again."

"That's unfortunate," Pansy began to say. "But I'm surprised that's the one you chose. Wouldn't you want-"

"_Pansy._" Ginny hissed through her teeth. "Remember, it's called _Say Anything, _which means you _don't_ have to disclose everything."

"What? Everyone knows don't they? About-"

"Pansy I swear if you don't shut up now, I will strangle you with my hands."

Pansy quickly stopped, Ginny's glare boring into her. It was too late though; everyone was curiously looking from both of them, to a clueless Hermione, who was just as intrigued as the rest of the group.

"Well now we really want to know," Ron said, a sentiment shared by the others.

Hermione caught Ginny's eyes, which were staring at her as if to say _I'm sorry. _

"Come on, we want to know!" Blaise spoke up.

"Yeah, what in Hermione's life would she want to change? Everything's perfect." Draco smirked, placing his hands behind his head.

_This can't be good, _Hermione thought. Both Ginny and Pansy looked very uncomfortable with whatever it was, and if she hadn't told Draco…

What had she done?

She became nervous, knowing that if they questioned her directly she had no way of getting out of this one.

"Come on, girls," Harry prodded. "One of you has to tell us what it is. Hermione?"

"I…uh…"

"Guys, it's really personal, and I don't think this is the appropriate place." Ginny insisted.

"Well she told you two," Draco pointed out. "I probably already know what it is, and I just can't think of it right now. Right?"

Ginny and Pansy both looked at Hermione again, though Pansy was looking at her with a, _what do we do? _expression, and Ginny's was just one of hopelessness.

"I do know what they're talking about, right?" Draco said, slowly this time after reading all three of their expressions correctly. "Hermione?"

"Oh, it's got to be good. Look, they're all nervous." Blaise leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "Let's go ladies, we don't have all night."

It took a chorus of 'Tell us' being chanted before Ginny broke, sending Hermione and apologetic look. She knew she'd have to be the one to tell them, because Hermione had no idea of what it was, and the longer they held out, the more suspicious it looked because of that fact.

"Fine!" she snapped, and then she took a deep breath. "Six months before she was pregnant with Pollux, Hermione was pregnant with another baby and she lost it. She had a miscarriage."

The silence was thick around the room once Ginny finished, and Hermione could feel everyone's eyes pressing in on her. She would've suffocated from it if she hadn't consciously remembered to breathe.

"I'm sorry 'Mione." Ginny's voice cracked as she said the words, and she got out of her seat and hurried upstairs, not once looking back.

Hermione probably should've got up and left the room herself, but she felt glued to her seat in every way possible.

Draco wasn't however, and he did get up and leave. Except he left the house, and not just the room.

Harry got up next. "I'm going to go check on Ginny."

"We better go, too," Ron and Blaise said at the same time, both awkwardly.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. I shouldn't have said anything," Pansy apologized, her eyes beyond sincere.

"It's fine Pansy," Hermione managed to respond. A second later, the four of them had apparated away and she was left alone in the living room with nothing but her thoughts, and they were anything but silent.

_Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! No wonder Ginny didn't want to say anything! That was _extremely _personal, and you hadn't even told Draco about it! _

_Draco…he's probably furious with you right now, and you have no idea what you're going to say to him. You don't even know what really happened! _

Hermione instinctively put her hands to her stomach, and it suddenly felt empty as it dawned on her what having a miscarriage meant.

She had been pregnant, and she had lost her baby.

She had lost hers and _Draco's _baby, and she hadn't even told him.

She suddenly felt like the worst mother ever and the worst wife ever at the same time. She put her head in hands, as if it would hide her from the world.

"Hermione."

She looked up to find Harry in front of her. He reached out and ran his hand through her hair.

"Ginny wants to talk to you. She's waiting upstairs in our room."

Hermione nodded and then made her way up to the master bedroom. Ginny was sitting on the edge of her bed, her eyes red from crying.

"I'm so sorry 'Mione," she sniffed. "I didn't know it was going to come up, and you didn't even know, and I had promised the other you that I would take it to my _grave_."

Hermione quickly put her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. "Gin, you were pushed into a corner. I would've caved too."

"You're not upset?"

"Well, the real me probably would be. It's not really a secret you want let out at a party, especially when your husband doesn't know. She actually probably would've taken Draco into the other room told him on his own. But we did what we could Gin."

"I should probably tell you everything, before you go face Draco."

"That would probably be a good idea."

"You found out you were pregnant while Draco was on a trip to Turkey trying to find out what had poisoned an entire village. He was gone for a month. A week before he came home, Scorpius flooed to my house and told me that you were lying on the floor bleeding. Pansy was over at the time, so we both apparated over. I've never been so scared in my life 'Mione. You were unconscious next to your bed, and there was blood all under you, and you weren't responding to us. We had no idea what was wrong with you. We took you to Mungo's and luckily they saw you right away. The doctor told us that you had lost the baby, but he wasn't able to determine why. He said it's just one of those things that happen sometimes. I stayed at your house for the next few days, until Draco got back. You made me promise not to tell anyone, especially Draco, because you hadn't even told them you were pregnant, and you didn't want them worrying about you for no reason. And you knew Draco would feel guilty and terrible that he wasn't here. So we've just kept it quiet and to ourselves…until now."

Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to process it all. "Draco's going to hate me."

"It's not possible for him to hate you," Ginny assured her, taking her hand in hers. "He loves you too much. He might just be upset for a while."

"That's what I'm afraid of. How am I supposed to get through a life where my husband's upset with me? I'm barely getting used to him loving me in the first place. And who knows where he is right now, he _left_."

"Hey, he may have left this house for a little bit, but he would _never_ leave you. Maybe he'll be asleep when you get home, but if he isn't don't worry about it. Just go to bed, and maybe when you wake up you'll be back in Hogwarts."

"Maybe…" Hermione brooded. "I'm not sure if I would like leaving us this way though. And I probably won't be able to fall asleep if he's not home."

"Then you're just going to have to face him."

* * *

><p>When Hermione apparated home a few minutes after her talk with Ginny, it was to a dark and empty house. She put the kids to bed as fast as she could, dodging their questions of where their father was.<p>

It wasn't until she went into the kitchen to have some tea that noticed that the door to the backyard was unlocked. She looked out the window, and sighed with relief as she saw Draco sitting on the porch swing they had, his arms crossed, and his eyes staring straight ahead. Her relief was subsequently taken over by dread.

She could've just gone upstairs and pretended she didn't see him, but her feet had other ideas, and she found them leading her outside and into the seat next to him. He didn't even twitch.

"I'm sorry Draco," she whispered, feeling the need to say something first.

He remained in his stoic stance, unflinching. After five unbearable more seconds of complete stillness, Hermione took hold of his hand.

"Please say something to me."

"How could you not tell me?"

"I didn't want you worrying or feeling guilty that you weren't here," Hermione said, remembering what Ginny had told her.

"What do you mean I wasn't here? When was I not here?"

"When you went to Turkey."

Draco covered his face with his hands as he remembered, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"So in the one and only month I've ever left you, you found out you were pregnant and had a miscarriage."

"Yes."

"And you didn't think it imperative to tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry," Hermione repeated, running out of things to say.

"You were never going to tell me, were you." His tone was becoming harsh.

"No," her voice cracked.

"How could you not tell me, Hermione? I'm your husband for goodness sakes! That was my child too you know!"

"I know." Hermione could feel the tears welling up inside her as Draco began to show how upset he was.

"You should have told me! I would've come home, I would've been here for you!"

"I _know._" The tears spilled over. "I just didn't know _how. _How are you supposed to tell someone that?"

Because that was exactly what Hermione had been thinking when Ginny told her the whole story. How do you tell someone that wasn't there for the beginning or the end what had happened?

It was quiet again, Hermione's sniffing the only sound in the solemn darkness. She felt Draco's hand come up to her face, and his thumb brushed under her eye, wiping away the wetness that had collected there.

"You're right." Her face was being held in both his hands now, his forehead against hers, and his eyes closed. "It's not something you can just tell someone easily. You should have found a way though."

"I know. But you know now."

"Yeah, I do."

"Do you still love me?"

Hermione wasn't sure why she felt the need to ask that, but for some reason it was something that she needed to know.

"Of course I do," Draco said, kissing her softly on the lips, and then embracing her. "I'll always love you. I just need you to tell me these things."

Hermione nodded and sniffed as he held her. They stayed there on the swing in each other's arms until they both fell asleep. Hermione wasn't sure where she'd end up in the morning, but if she did end up back in her real life, at least she'd know that she and Draco in this life were okay.


	6. Chapter 6

Here's Chapter 6 :) Read and review!

* * *

><p>It took a second for Hermione to remember why she was naked under the covers when she woke up the next morning. It took another second for her to run to the bathroom and throw up. It seemed whatever sickness she had decided to strike again.<p>

Luckily Ron wasn't anywhere in the room, or else she would have been completely mortified.

Once she felt well again she hurriedly threw on some clothes and then brushed her teeth thoroughly. She took the minute and a half of cleansing to remember everything that had happened the day before, or really, two days before.

_Alright,_ she thought_. Someone I don't know has picked up my daughter from school, Ron _really_ doesn't like Draco, and doesn't care to see Harry and Ginny either for that matter, and sex is the most fun you can have in a bed._

It was 6:30 in the morning, and Ron was already up reading some magazine at the kitchen table, a toasted waffle hanging from his mouth.

"Good morning." Hermione grinned widely.

"Morning." Ron looked up at her for a second and smiled back before returning to his magazine.

"You're up early."

"Coach wanted to get in some extra hours of practice before our game on Saturday. He wants us fully prepared. The cheerleaders need practice too."

"Cheerleaders?"

"Oh yes, that was our surprise yesterday. All the Quidditch teams are getting cheerleaders."

"That's, _grea_t," Hermione said, though she was less than enthused. Hermione hated cheerleaders and thought they had no business at a Quidditch game. Cheering fans were enough in her opinion.

"Well, I better take off now." Ron finished his waffle and threw the magazine to the other side of the table.

"Before you go, what do you think about having dinner with Harry and Ginny tonight?"

After learning of their falling out, Hermione hoped she could reconcile the three friends, even if she would only be around for a short time.

"Maybe," Ron said while scratching the back of his head. "I'll owl and let you know."

"Ginny already made reservations at six at this Chinese restaurant on Baker Street, so if you're not home by a quarter to, just meet us ther-"

"-yeah I'll do that."

"And there's something else I was hoping to talk to you about really quick," Hermione started, wanting to discuss what Rose's teacher had told her.

"Sorry babe, but I really got to go. I was thinking you should stay home today, make sure you're really better."

"Maybe I will. But Ron I really-"

"Tell the kids I said bye and I love them," he said as he hastily kissed Hermione on the cheek. He was gone a moment later.

_That's exactly how I thought the morning after would go, _Hermione grumbled.

She didn't have time to wallow about her lack of a husband however, for Hugo chose that moment to wake up and let everyone in the world know that he was.

"Want down!" he said as soon as Hermione entered his room. She picked him up and set him on the floor, then went over to Rose's room to wake her up before returning to dress him for the day.

It had only been three days, but she was already getting used to the routine of her life in this world. She wondered how much longer she'd have to go through it.

At precisely 8:25 she apparated to Rose's school, her daughter's hand in hers, and Hugo resting on her hip.

Mrs. Holmes was busy preparing the children who were already in the class, so Hermione had to postpone her questioning for when she would pick Rose up. She and Rose hugged and kissed each other goodbye, and then she brought Hugo to the daycare.

Upon her return home, Hermione wondered if she should take Ron's advice and just stay home for the day, but with everyone gone the house suddenly felt huge and empty, and she knew she wouldn't feel comfortable being there by herself for long. So she got herself ready and apparated to the Ministry, hoping that she would be able to get through whatever the work day had in store for her.

"Hey Madeline," Hermione greeted as she got off the lift on her departments floor.

"Hermione! I thought you were staying home today. Ron sent us an owl-"

"Well Ron was wrong," Hermione snapped. She was steadily becoming annoyed with her husband.

"Alright then, I'll let Sawyer know that his presentation is still on for today then."

Hermione walked into her office and took a seat in her chair, then began to sift through all the papers she had on her desk for something to work on. There was knock on her door not five minutes later, and whoever it was didn't even bother waiting for her to respond before opening it.

"Morning Granger," Draco said as he stepped in. Hermione didn't even attempt to smother the giddy feeling she got at seeing his face, or wiping off the grin her mouth had involuntarily turned in to. The giddiness flared up as he smiled right back at her. _Finally, a husband that actually cares about-_

Hermione paused in her thoughts as she remembered that she was in her life with Ron, and not the one with the man currently leaning forward on her desk.

"Good morning," she said back, trying not to look as pleased to see him as she really was.

"I just heard that you came in. You certainly look like you're doing better today."

"Yes I am, thank you. I don't know what it was, but I think it's gone."

"That's good. So, Niemi and I came up with a proposal for you to think about." He placed a folder on her desk and opened it up. "A general Muggle Studies class would be mandatory in third and fourth year. It would include all the essential information one would need to survive in the muggle world. You two will discuss what those subjects are later. Fifth year through seventh year it will be an elective for those who still want to learn about muggle things that are interesting and helpful, but not as important."

"So far I like it."

"Like I said, it's a proposal. You can discuss it with him at your next meeting."

"Thank you Draco. I'm sure you had a lot to do with getting him to agree to that."

"I got him to see my reasoning," Draco shrugged.

They were quiet for a moment as they just stared at each other, Draco still leaning against her desk, his tie skimming the top of it. All Hermione had to do was move up a little and their face would be touching.

Draco quickly stood up straight as the door opened behind him, Madeline charging into the room.

"Hermione, I got you a vanilla latte. I thought it would make you-" Madeline stopped as she noticed that Hermione wasn't alone in the room. "-better. Hi, Mr. Malfoy."

If Hermione hadn't been looking she would've missed the flush that spread over Madeline's cheeks, or the way her voice suddenly became quieter.

"Madeline, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Draco?"

"Once more I suppose," she said as she went over to Hermione and gave her the drink.

Hermione knew she had no right to be jealous, but all of a sudden all she wanted to do was shove Madeline out the nearest window. _Stop it Hermione_, _you're married to Ron over here, not Draco._

"I'll let you get back to work, Granger. Let me know if you need anything, you know where my office is."

He left her office with a wink, and a Madeline who looked like she was about to melt to the floor.

"I really can't decide who's hotter, him or Niemi," she sighed.

_Him, definitely him_.

"Too bad he's _so _in love with you."

"_What_?"

"It's _so _obvious. You're the only one he talks to, or does favors for, or allows to just walk into his office. The list of things exclusively for you could go on and on."

"It's because we're friends, Madeline. I mean, I'm _married."_

"And it's that one major detail that still gives me hope. Aren't you going to drink your latte?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah." Hermione picked up the untouched cup in front of her and brought it to her lips for a sip, but the moment she breathed in, her insides once again turned against her. It was as if the scent of the vanilla traveled straight to the pit of her stomach and then immediately made its way back up, taking everything that was already there with it. She grabbed the trash bin under her desk and heaved into it.

"Oh my gosh," Madeline gasped, moving over to Hermione and rubbing her back.

"I'm thinking maybe I don't like vanilla, or even coffee."

"That's really weird because it's never bothered you before. The only people I've seen this happen to are women who are…" Madeline trailed off as something dawned on her.

"Women who are what?" Hermione asked as she plugged her nose and moved the cup as far away as possible from her on her desk.

She became concerned when she looked back up to find her friend grinning wildly at her.

"Pregnant," Madeline said excitedly. "Women who are pregnant!"

Hermione was frozen speechless, her mouth hanging open.

_Pregnant? Oh no. Oh no no no no no._

"There's no way I'm pregnant," Hermione dismissed.

"Well there're ways to find out."

Madeline left Hermione in her office and returned twenty minutes later with a book in her hands.

"Alright," she said as she flipped through the book, stopping as she got to whatever page she was looking for. "How To Perform A Pregnancy Test Charm."

Hermione waited nervously as Madeline silently read the instructions from the book.

"Okay… we'll have to go to the loo, and we'll need our wands."

"Let me see," Hermione said, taking the book from Madeline to read the instructions herself.

_How to Perform A Pregnancy Test Charm_

_Step 1: Urinate into toilet or clean container._

_Step 2: Wave wand over sample and say _"_ego sum gravidam_".

_Step 3: Wait ten seconds for charm to take effect. The sample will turn either pink or clear._

_Pink= Positive pregnancy_

_Clear= Negative pregnancy_

"Seems simple enough."

Hermione grabbed her wand and then cast a charm to copy the instructions off the page, transferring them to a single piece of parchment, and showing it into her pants pocket.

"We're not going to take the entire book with us," she said when Madeline looked at her strangely.

Five minutes later and Hermione was staring unblinkingly into a toilet, Madeline waiting patiently outside the stall.

"Well?" Madeline asked when it had been silent longer than necessary.

"Are you sure this is an accurate test?"

"Yes, of course it is. Why? What color is it?"

"It's pink."

Hermione couldn't concentrate for the rest of her work day, not that she really knew what was going on anyway. All she could think about was the pregnancy test.

_It must be a faulty charm, _she kept thinking to herself. _It was wrong. You must have performed it _wrong.

That was why she sent Madeline into muggle London and made her buy a standard pregnancy test at the first drugstore she found. That too read positive.

When that wasn't satisfying enough for her, she had Madeline accompany her to St. Mungo's where a professional Healer confirmed it.

After that, Hermione knew she couldn't deny it anymore.

She was pregnant.

* * *

><p>Hermione didn't return to work after visiting Mungo's, choosing to take a walk in the park nearby instead, and let the news sink in.<p>

Her mind felt muddled as the words the healer had said to her kept playing in her head.

"_Both of those tests were correct Mrs. Weasley," Healer Hansen said. "You're pregnant."_

_You're pregnant. You're pregnant. You're pregnant._

For the first time since she had ended up in this strange possible life, Hermione wanted out. She wanted to go home where she could live out her life for real, and be fully prepared for something like this. Because at the moment, she was not ready to be pregnant.

Before she knew it, it was time to pick up her kids. She got Hugo first, and then arrived at the school just as Rose's class was let out. She waited for her daughter and Mrs. Holmes to appear, because as anxious as she was to just go home and take a long nap, she still wanted to talk to Mrs. Holmes about who else had picked Rose up before.

"Mummy!"

"Hello Rosie. Would you mind playing with your brother for a little bit? I have to talk to your teacher about something?"

"Am I in trouble?"

"No, sweetie. There's just something I have to ask her."

This seemed to be all Rose needed to know, for she took Hugo's hand and went off to the playground.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley!"Mrs. Holmes smiled. "Another early day from work I presume?"

"Yes." Hermione smiled back. "Um, yesterday you mentioned that either my husband or his sister picks Rose up from school. Did his sister ever mention her name?"

"Of course, Ginny,"

"I see… what does she look like?"

"She's a beautiful dark brunette with such striking blue eyes I'd swear they aren't her original color. About your size. Is there a problem Mrs. Weasley?"

"Well, it's just that whoever you're describing is not Mr. Weasley's sister,"

"Oh dear." Mrs. Holmes mouth fell open and she brought her hand up to cover it.

"Please don't allow her to pick up my daughter again unless I tell you it's okay."

"Of course not. I'm so sorry, Mrs. Weasley."

"Thank you, Mrs. Holmes."

Hermione left the concerned older woman and retrieved her two children from the playground, apparating them home, and wondering all the while what she was going to say to Ron when _he_ came home.

* * *

><p>Ron still wasn't home by the time Hermione was supposed to meet Harry and Ginny at the restaurant, so she readied Hugo and Rose and went on her own. She hoped he'd show up sometime while they were there, but with the way things were going it just seemed like wishful thinking.<p>

"Hello," Ginny smiled and stood up as Hermione made her way over to their reserved booth. She was there alone with the three kids, and Hermione wondered if both their husbands would be missing in action that night. Ginny gave her a hug, and then helped put Hugo in his high chair while Hermione sat Rose down next to her cousins.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked.

"He'll be here in about ten minutes. He had some loose ends to tie up at the department regarding a case. How about Ron?"

"I don't know. He said he'd owl, but he didn't, so I'm not sure."

"Typical. How was your day today? I'm assuming things didn't go too awry since you didn't call me."

Hermione fidgeted in her seat as she prepared to tell Ginny her big news. "I actually have something big to tell you," she began, and she swore she saw Ginny's ears perk up in anticipation. She made sure the kids weren't listening or paying attention in any way before speaking. "I'm pregnant."

"Really?" Ginny said, her eyes bulging in their sockets.

"Yes. A healer at Mungo's confirmed it and everything."

"Oh my god, this is _great_! Now we'll both have three!" Ginny slowly came down from her high as she noticed Hermione's lack of enthusiasm. "Why don't you look excited?"

"I've never been pregnant before, and I'm…scared," Hermione admitted, no matter how childish it sounded.

"It can be scary, but it's a beautiful thing. And look on the bright side- the body you're in right now has already done it twice. And I'll be right here to help you through it, if you're still here that is."

"You're right. I might not have to do anything," Hermione said, her spirits rising.

"And even if you do, I'll be here." Ginny put her hand over Hermione's in an act of comfort. "Just think about it, you're bringing a new life into the world, and it'll be yours to love and cherish. Isn't that exciting?"

"It is." Hermione finally smiled as the image of her cradling a baby entered her mind. Maybe being pregnant wasn't such a terrible thing. Now that she thought about it, being pregnant in this life would give her a chance to practice for when it happened in her real life.

"How are my two favorite ladies doing?"

"Probably gossiping like old ladies."

Both Ginny and Hermione turned to find Harry standing next to them, with Draco Malfoy and his son Scorpius at his side.

"We _are _not gossiping. And it's nice to see you too Draco," Ginny said. She stood up to give her husband and Draco a hug, and Hermione followed suit, though much more awkwardly. It was strange being near a man who just the other day was your husband, especially when you had this overwhelming feeling to kiss him.

What was even stranger at the moment however, was Scorpius. He was nearly identical to the Scorpius she knew as her own son, but there were slight differences in his eyes and chin. She got out of her seat to allow him to sit next to the rest of the kids, and had to fight the urge to embrace him. She wished he would have greeted her like he had the other day, but this was a different life, and in this life she wasn't his mother. Astoria Greengrass was. Hermione began to tingle with jealousy as she remembered that fact.

_Get a grip Hermione. You're married to Ron and you have two kids with him and one on the way, and you are in a _great _life right now. A great life._

"I hope you don't mind that I invited him," Harry said, taking a seat next to his wife. Draco proceeded to take the one next to Hermione, and she felt herself immediately heat up at his closeness.

She really hoped this would be a short dinner. Or that Ron would show up. Anything to keep her from forgetting that the man sitting next to her wasn't husband, especially when there was barely an inch of space between them.

"Of course not," Ginny said with a smile. "It doesn't look like Ron's going to make an appearance so I think we'll be okay."

"Did you make it through work okay today Granger?" Draco asked, turning his attention to Hermione.

"I did thank you."

"Why wouldn't she?" both Ginny and Harry wondered.

"She went home sick yesterday."

"You didn't mention this at dinner last night," Ginny glared at her friend.

"I didn't think it was anything worth mentioning…" Hermione said sheepishly.

"If you had, I could've told you last night that you were _pregnant_." Ginny clasped her hands over mouth as she realized what she had just said. Hermione gaped at her.

"You're pregnant?" Harry beamed.

"Yes, I uh, I just found out today."

"That's great! I can't say I care for the father very much, but still!"

"Congratulations, Granger." Draco smiled at her, though it fell as soon as he looked away.

It was then that the waiter showed up and took their orders, halting any further discussion on the subject. They spent the rest of the evening discussing Hermione, every one of Hermione and Ginny's pregnancies- which Ginny thankfully dominated, with appropriate comments from Harry- and Draco's experience with Astoria when she was pregnant with Scorpius. By the end Hermione sincerely hoped she would escape this life before she entered the second trimester.

* * *

><p>Hermione didn't return home until around nine, both Rose and Hugo ready to fall asleep. She put Hugo to bed in his room while Rose treaded over to hers.<p>

Hermione thought Rose would've been fast asleep in the ten minutes it took her to change Hugo's diaper and dress him in his pajamas, but the little girl was still awake, her drooping eyes fighting to stay open.

"Can you read me a story please Mummy?"

"Sure," Hermione said, going over to Rose's small bookshelf and taking out a promising orange covered book. She lay in comfortably next to her daughter on her bed and then opened the book up.

"_Beatrice and Benedict,_" Hermione began to read. "Once upon a time there were a girl and boy, Beatrice and Benedict, and they did not like each other. Benedict was always teasing Beatrice….and Beatrice would taunt him right back. Their friends Claudio and Hero knew that Beatrice and Benedict secretly liked each other, and that they bickered all the time because they didn't want the other to find out. So Claudio and Hero came up with a plan to get Beatrice and Benedict together. The next day while Claudio and two of his other friends were in the park they began to speak loudly about how Beatrice liked Benedict, who happened to be hiding nearby in some bushes, and he heard _everything_. In her house, Hero and her friend began to talk loudly about how Benedict liked Beatrice, who happened to be just outside the room, and she heard _everything. _Both Beatrice and Benedict now knew that the other liked them. The next time they saw each other they admitted that they liked each other and decided to get married, and they lived happily ever after. The End."

"I really like that story," Rose said as Hermione closed the book and placed it on the bedside table.

"Me too. It's actually just a small part of an even bigger story that you'll have to read when you're older."

"It reminds me of you and Mr. Draco."

"Hmm?" Hermione's head snapped over to her daughter.

"Uncle Harry told us the story of how all of you didn't like each other and how Mr. Draco was always making fun of you, but now your friends. Only you didn't marry Mr. Draco, you married Daddy."

"Yes, I did." Hermione kissed Rose on the head and scooted herself off the bed. "Goodnight Rosie."

"Mummy, what did you mean when you told everyone you were pregnant?" Rose asked sleepily, her eyes already closed.

"It means I'm going to have a baby," Hermione answered.

"Like when you had Hugo?"

"Yes, like when I had Hugo."

"Mr. Draco looked sad. I think he wants one. Maybe you should give him this one since you already have me and Hugo and he only has Scorpius."

Hermione gave a shaky laugh. "I'll think about it. Goodnight Rosie," she said with more finality this time.

"Goodnight Mummy."

Hermione closed the door on her daughter's room, and shook her head. It seemed that Rose had inherited her mother's observation skills, and Hermione wasn't sure if that was a good thing at the moment.

Hermione had just finished changing her clothes when Ron came into their room, his jacket already off and his shirt half unbuttoned.

"Hi," she smiled at him. "I guess work took all day then?"

"Oh, hi," he smiled back. "Yeah, lots of stuff we did today. I am dead tired."

Hermione became anxious as Ron prepared to get into the bed. She really wanted to talk to him, but she wasn't sure how to start. She decided that the good news should come after the uncertain news, and began with Rose. "Ron, remember how I needed to talk to you about something this morning?"

"Oh yes, sorry about that, but I really had to get to work. What did you want to talk about?"

"I was talking with Rose's teacher and she mentioned that either you would pick Rose up, or your sister, but Ginny said she never picks Rose up."

"Oh, sometimes I have Miranda pick Rose up because I can't."

"Miranda?"

"Yeah, you know my publicist, Miranda Loren."

"Of course, that Miranda, how could I have forgotten," Hermione said, feigning ignorance. "Why'd you say it was your sister?"

"To make things easier. You don't mind do you?"

"Actually, I'd rather you have your _real _sister pick up our daughter if we can't. Or at least one of our other close friends."

"Whatever, it probably won't happen again."

_Damn right it won't._

"Babe, I'm really tired, so I'm just going to go to bed if you don't mind."

"Wait, there's one other thing I have to tell you," Hermione stopped him. "I'm pregnant."

She grinned widely at him, thinking she was going to get the same response, but all she received was a blank, taken aback expression.

"Come again?" he said, his eyes firm on hers and unblinking.

"I'm pregnant." She said it slower this time, with an uncertain tone that made it sound more like a question than a statement.

"No. No, no, no, _no." _Ron leaped out of the bed and stood himself in front of her. "You can't be pregnant. I thought we agreed we weren't going to have any more kids after Hugo."

Now it was Hermione's turn to be surprised. Why would she have agreed to not have any more kids?

"I guess I changed my mind," she said.

"No. I told you, I can't be taking care of another child right now. My career is finally taking off! I have practices, and games, and public appearances. A huge family doesn't fit into that!"

Hermione wasn't sure what else to say. This wasn't the reaction she had expected from him, and she couldn't help feeling hurt. This was far from the happy moment she had visualized.

"I need to get out of here," Ron said, and he was gone before Hermione could even blink.

She wasn't sure how she made it into the bed and under the covers, but she did. As she lay there, tears sliding down her face, all she could hope for was that she would wake up from what had suddenly become a bad, bad dream.


	7. Chapter 7

"_She's beautiful," she said, her eyes glued to the baby girl in her arms. "Isn't she?"_

_He reached out his arms and took the baby out of hers; then he turned around and began to head for the door._

"_Where are you going?" She asked, confused._

"_I told you, I didn't want it, so I'm taking care of it."_

"_What do you mean you're taking care of it?" She asked, panicking. _

"_The family that was here earlier lost theirs, so I offered them her. It's done."_

"_No!" she cried frantically. She wished she was strong enough to get out of the bed, but she had used all her energy during labor. "You can't do this! Stop!"_

_But he didn't listen to her. He just walked out the door and out of her sight, leaving her alone in the room with nothing to do but scream and cry and hope that someone would hear her._

"_Hermione!" Harry came running into the room. _

"_Harry, you have to stop him. Please, stop him!"_

_She must not have been speaking clearly because all Harry did was say her name again and shake her shoulder._

"_Stop it! You have to get her back! Stop _shaking _me!"_

Hermione's eyes burst open and she took a deep breath.

"Hermione?"

Draco's face was over hers, his expression worried. He was cradling her head through her hair, and his hand was on her shoulder just like Harry's had been.

"Granger?" he said again.

She blinked a few times before finding her voice. "What happened?"

"You were having a bad dream. You were crying." He brought his thumbs up to her eyes and wiped away tears that she didn't even know she had. He kissed her on the forehead and helped her sit up, hugging her once she was in an upright position. She held herself close to him as she anchored herself in the real world and outside of her dream.

"What were you dreaming about?"

"I-" she began to say, but she quickly stopped herself. A dream where she just had Ron's baby was probably not something Draco would want to hear. "Someone was chasing me and I couldn't get away," she lied. He took it.

"You're safe now," he said, resting his head on hers and keeping her close to him. Hermione's body began to relax, the warmth of Draco's body and the feel of his arms around her working in calming her. "It was just a dream."

_Yes, _Hermione thought. _It was only a dream. _

_Hopefully._

Draco's alarm went off, and he quickly shut it off. "We better get ready before the kids get up."

Hermione nodded, and reluctantly untangled herself from his comforting embrace. They each got out of bed, and while Draco headed towards the bathroom, Hermione found herself half running to Pollux's room.

He wasn't awake yet, but she picked him up anyway and held him to her tightly. She smiled as he nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck, and before she knew it she felt tears silently rolling down her cheeks.

It had only been a dream, but the loss and devastation had felt real. She hoped she'd never feel that way again.

She began to get Pollux ready, using the time it took to allow her face to get back to normal. She didn't want Draco asking any questions.

By the time she finished with Pollux, Scorpius was up dressing himself, and Draco was helping Ariel. She brought Pollux with her to her room so she could get herself ready, not wanting him away from her at the moment.

She went downstairs twenty minutes later, everyone else already sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. She sat Pollux in his highchair and then took the empty seat next to Draco, a plate with a piece of buttered toast already set in front of it.

"Are you sure your okay, Love?" Draco asked her.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "That dream just got to me a little."

He nodded, and then spoke again. "About last night…"

_Last night? _ Hermione struggled a bit to remember the last time she was there, everything that happened in her life with Ron at the forefront of her mind. It all came back to her though.

"Yeah?" she said.

"I understand why you didn't tell me, and I'm fine with it. And we'll only talk about it if you want to."

"Thank you."

He took the hand that was currently resting on her knee and gently squeezed it with his, and he gave her a look that let her know everything really was okay.

"Did I tell you about the giraffes Dad?" Scorpius piped up.

"No, I believe they were the one thing you forgot to mention," Draco said, but he turned to Hermione a second later and winked.

All Scorpius could talk about was his trip to the zoo. He had gone over every aspect of it at least twice now, but Draco continued to humor him.

"They're suuuper tall! And I saw one of them eat from a tree!"

"That's really cool Scor," Hermione chuckled.

"And I saw these HUGE snakes, too! Can I get one?"

"I want a pet snake!" Ariel yelled.

"Maybe for your birthdays," Draco laughed. "What do you think Mum?"

"We'll see." Hermione said, but she highly doubted she would ever agree to pet snakes.

Draco took off to work a little later, and she followed soon after, dropping Scorpius and Ariel off at school.

She decided to do some grocery shopping during the morning, noticing that the refrigerator was getting low on some essential items. She made her way into muggle London, and went into the first store that looked promising.

Hermione had never done her own grocery shopping before, but she found that she enjoyed it, effortlessly making her way down each aisle and throwing whatever looked good to her in her trolley.

"Hermione Granger?" She heard someone call her name. She turned to find a dark haired, green eyed woman standing not too far from her. She looked familiar, but Hermione couldn't attach a name to the face.

"It's Astoria Greengrass, from Hogwarts," the woman smiled.

_Oh, _Hermione thought, as she began to recognize her. _Oh. _

Unnecessary envy started to creep up on Hermione as she remembered that Astoria Greengrass was the one Draco had married and had Scorpius with in the other life. She couldn't help but notice how gorgeous Astoria was in her face, her body, her hair, in everything.

"I know we weren't in the same year, but I was always hearing so much about you. How are you?"

Even her voice was gorgeous.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Is this your son? He's so handsome. It's funny, he reminds me a lot of Draco Malfoy for some reason, but he can't possibly be the father, I mean he _hated_ you."

"Actually," Hermione began, trying not to sound acerbic. "Draco is his father."

"Oh!" Astoria said, genuinely surprised. "Was it a one night stand sort of thing?"

"_No._" Hermione was liking her less and less. "It was a we-got-married-and-had-three-kids sort of thing."

Astoria raised her eyebrows at Hermione, clearly skeptical. "_You_ got married to Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes," Hermione said smugly.

"Huh. You know, Draco and I had a thing once, back in my seventh year and his eighth? We got caught in so many classrooms." She let out a giggle that had Hermione about ready to strangle her on the spot. "It's a shame I broke up with him. Left him despondent for months afterward. But don't worry, I'm sure he's over it."

"I'm sure he is."

Before Astoria could open her mouth once more, Hermione turned around and out the aisle, heading straight for the checkout counter. She may not have gotten everything she was planning, but there was enough to last them for a few days.

By the time she reached home she was exhausted and annoyed, and her stomach was acting up again. She managed to put down all her groceries, and Pollux before hurrying to the bathroom.

_I'm probably pregnant in this life too, _she thought with a chuckle. Her body became anxious as she realized that that probably was the case.

"Hermione?" she heard Draco call for her. She quickly rinsed her mouth and met him in the living room.

"You're home," she said as he pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, I thought I'd spend my lunch hour with you. I brought pizza."

He led her to the kitchen where Pollux was already seated, a large pizza with everything on it open on the table. The smell reached Hermione's nostrils, and she was positive she'd never smelt anything so amazing in her life. She hadn't even sat down before the first slice was in her mouth.

Draco watched her, mesmerized as it disappeared at a rate faster than he was probably accustomed to.

"So how was your morning?" he asked, trying not to laugh.

That was when she remembered her run in with Astoria at the grocery store, and she put her second slice of pizza down, suddenly not in the mood to eat it.

"Pollux and I went to the grocery store."

"That's good, Scorpius drank the last of the milk this morning."

"You wouldn't believe who I saw there."

"Who?"

"Astoria Greengrass."

She expected Draco's face to fall, or some sort of negative reaction at hearing her name, but his face only changed into one of usual surprise. "Really?" he said. "How is she?"

"She's good… I guess. She spoke mostly about your relationship with her and how she couldn't believe we were married."

The last statement got his attention.

"What did she say?"

"Something about you hating me, you two being caught in numerous classrooms- though she didn't elaborate as to whether you were playing checkers or having sex- how upset you apparently were when she broke up with you, and how you're _probably _over her."

Hermione said this all nonchalantly- while tearing up the slice of pizza in front of her.

"Astoria always had a big mouth," Draco sighed.

"Did she now?" Hermione said, pointing out his double entendre.

"You know I didn't mean it like that," he frowned. "First of all, we were together for a grand total of two months where all I ever did was kiss her,"

Hermione grimaced at the thought, even though it was better than the original ones her mind had conjured with Astoria.

"Second of all, yes she broke up with me, but it was one of the best and relieving days of my life. And I was over her before we even broke up. If I looked despondent for a period after that it was because you were still with Ron." He took her hand in his as he finished, and brought it up to his lips to kiss it. "Feel better now?"

"Yes," she smiled, her attempt at being put out with him failing. "But are there any other exes I should worry about running in to?"

"No," he chuckled. "Just the one."

"Good." Hermione picked up a piece of her mutilated pizza and began to eat again.

"Are you sure there isn't anything else you want to tell me?" Draco said, an amused look on his face.

"I don't think so. That's all we did this morning."

He gave an unconvinced grin, that Hermione wasn't sure meant. They continued to eat, talking about Draco's morning at Mungo's, and whether Draco would come home first or just go straight from work to their dinner with Ginny and Harry. They decided he'd come home first.

Before they knew it, Draco's lunch hour was up and he went back to work, leaving Hermione alone with Pollux once again. She played with him on the living room carpet, not feeling up to going upstairs to his room where they had most of his toys.

She was beginning to wonder why she felt so tired when she remembered that she might _possibly _be pregnant. It seemed that Draco's surprise visit, talking about Astoria, and the delicious pizza had taken it out of her mind for a short time.

_I should probably find out for sure. It might be nothing in this life._

She knew that is was probably unlikely that it was anything different, but she needed verification anyway. She went to the bathroom and performed the same spell she had used with Madeline the day before. She waited the five minutes, and watched as the color changed to pink, confirming what she already knew, but making it official.

Now all she had to do was tell Draco and hope he didn't have the same response as Ron.

* * *

><p>Draco returned home at a quarter to six, and helped Hermione finish getting the kids ready for the few hours they'd be spending with Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny and Harry's kids. Hermione had to laugh at the fact that she seemed to end every night with the two Potter's, not that it wasn't a good thing. Seeing Ginny at least once a day gave her an opportunity to take a little bit of the load off her shoulders.<p>

They apparated to the Burrow, and were greeted by an enthusiastic Molly. Even though they weren't even her grandchildren, Hermione could tell that the older woman really cared for her three kids.

"Oh good, you two are here," Ginny said exasperated. "I was just able to divert Lily's attention to some of my old dolls. We better leave while we can."

"Thank you for watching them Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said as Draco took hold of her hand.

"Anytime, dear."

They waited for Ginny and Harry to say goodbye to their mother before apparating away and into Diagon Alley. Ginny had chosen a French restaurant there that had recently opened and she had been dying to try.

"I still can't believe you're the Captain, Gin," Hermione said as they sat down at their table. "That was your second dream after marrying Harry."

"I know, right? My dreams are literally coming true."

"Now you're just waiting on dream number three now."

"Dream number three?" Harry asked, curious.

"I have no idea what she's talking about," Ginny said a little too quickly.

"Yes you do," Hermione began with a mischievous smile on her face. "She has this dream of living for a week on a yacht in the middle of the ocean where she can lay out in the open naked and not worry about anyone seeing her."

"I can't believe you remember that," Ginny said, her face turning the color of her hair.

"Of course I do. What are best friends for but to remember the ridiculous things we say we want?"

"Maybe this summer Gin," Harry winked at his wife.

"We'll make sure not to be anywhere near you when it happens," Draco laughed.

It was at that moment that the waiter decided to show up and take their drink orders.

"I'll have a strawberry daiquiri," Hermione said when he got to her. "Virgin please," she quickly added, remembering that consuming alcohol was not allowed in her current state.

"Virgin?" Ginny eyed her strangely, as if she had said something unusual. There was a smile on her face though, so Hermione knew it wasn't anything they're-going-to-find-you-out unusual.

"Come on, 'Mione, it's a celebration," Harry said.

"Well one of us has to stay sober for the kids," Hermione said, thinking on her feet. Unfortunately, Ginny was still staring at her, one her eyebrows raised.

"I need to use the loo," Ginny said. "Hermione, would you come with me?"

"Sure," she said, following Ginny's lead. She heard Harry mutter _Girls, _from behind her as they walked away.

"So how was last night? And yesterday? And today?"

"There's actually something I need to tell you before we get into any of that."

"I know, but I thought it'd be better if I let you get to it in your own time instead asking right out like I usually do. So, tell me," Ginny beckoned.

"I'm pregnant."

Ginny's face, which had been fixed into a serious mien, quickly morphed into one of elation. "No. Way!" she squealed. "Oh my god, that's terrific! Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Hermione said bashfully. "I haven't told Draco yet, so don't say anything okay?"

"Alright. I recommend not telling him until the two of you are completely alone by the way."

"Why?"

"You'll see," Ginny smirked. "It's nothing bad," she added when she saw Hermione's worried expression.

"I'm actually…kind of scared to tell him."

"How come?"

"I'm also pregnant in the other life, and Ron didn't take it so well. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to be having a baby."

"I don't like this other Ron," Ginny grumbled. "And Draco will be far from upset, believe me."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," Ginny said as she pulled Hermione in a hug. "I can't believe you're pregnant!"

"I know, it's a little overwhelming, but the other you got me to see how it could be a good thing."

"Well good on me. What else happened yesterday and today?"

Hermione told Ginny everything that had happened between when they left the party, to her day in the Ron life, and then to what she had been up to since that morning.

"So, Ron had an explanation for why he had this Miranda person pick Rose up, and why he said she was his sister?"

"Yes."

"Well, if that's satisfactory for you then that's fine, but I still don't like it."

"I know, but I just don't know what else to do about it. I already told Rose's teacher not to allow her to pick Rose up anymore."

"I guess that is all you can do unless something else comes up," Ginny sighed. "And Ron really wasn't excited that you were pregnant?"

"No, he got really upset and then stormed off. I fell asleep and ended up here before he could get home."

"Maybe you just surprised him. Give it until tomorrow, let it settle in. He'll probably change his mind by then."

"I don't know, Gin," Hermione said, remembering her dream from this morning. "He really was _not _happy about it."

"Don't worry, everything will turn out fine. And we should probably get back to our men, we've been gone at least ten minutes already."

They made their way back to the table, where Draco and Harry were conversing comfortably.

"We thought you two had decided to run off without us," Draco joked, placing his arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"Like we'd ever leave you two," Ginny smiled. "You'd be lost without us."

They enjoyed the rest of their evening, reminiscing over Ginny's career, and their games of Quidditch back when they were at Hogwarts. Ginny managed to stay mum about Hermione being pregnant, though a part of Hermione was secretly hoping Ginny would accidentally spit it out. As they neared the end of their night, she found herself becoming more anxious about telling Draco. Before she knew it, it was time for them to return home, and she knew in less than an hour she'd be telling him the big news.

* * *

><p>"So are you going to tell me what Ginny dragged you out of the room so quickly for, and why it kept you away from me for a good ten minutes?" Draco asked as he undressed himself. He had decided to be an amazing husband and put all three of the kids to bed, so Hermione was already lying nervous in theirs, waiting for him to join her.<p>

"Maybe…." she replied, unsure of why she was stalling. The sooner she told him, the sooner she'd be fret free.

"You sure about that?" Draco said, and he hopped onto the bed, straddled himself over her, and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Not fair!" Hermione shrieked, as she tried to get him to stop. She laughed as he lightly brushed his nose over her face.

"Come on Granger, tell me your dirty little secret," he whispered seductively into her ear, and Hermione tried to suppress the sudden thrill that passed over her. "I know you have one. No woman could possibly take that long in a public restroom."

"Fine, I'll tell you," she conceded. Draco smirked, but quickly frowned when the unmistakable sound of Pollux crying in the next room over hit their ears.

"I'll get him," Hermione said, and Draco moved over so she could get up.

"Don't think this gets you out of telling me," he said.

Hermione just shot him a smile and a wink before going to get her son. Pollux was standing up, holding himself against the bars of his crib, with tears trailing down his face.

"Mumma!" he whimpered, and when Hermione picked him he immediately buried his head into the crick of her neck.

"Did you have a bad dream?" she asked him, to which he nodded his head. "It's okay, Mummy's got you now." She sat down in the rocking chair in the corner and held her youngest child against her. She rubbed his back in soothing circles and listened as his sobbing came to an end.

She couldn't help but grin at the small being she was cradling in her arms, her mini Draco. It was still hard to believe that in some strange alternate reality she was married to the Slytherin Prince and had created her own perfect family with him. _And in a few months there will be one more,_ she thought to herself, and for the first time it actually made her smile. She chuckled as she remembered that Draco was still waiting for her in the other room, dying to know what she was keeping from him.

With Pollux fast asleep again, she carefully set him back in his crib and covered him with his blanket. She placed a kiss on his forehead before turning to leave. She gasped when she noticed Draco standing in the doorframe.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Only a few moments," he replied, smirking at how he made her jump. "You were gone longer than I thought you would be and I wanted to make sure nothing was wrong."

"We're fine. He just had a bad dream."

"And of course he needs his mother to make it all better," Draco said taking Hermione by both of her hands and leading her back to their bedroom.

"Naturally," Hermione smiled.

"Now, what was it you were going to tell me?" he said as he sat down on the bed and pulled her up against him by her waist.

"Well… I'm pregnant,"

Hermione watched as Draco's eyes went wide, while the rest of his face was expressionless. For a second, she thought he was going to react the same way Ron had and she felt her heart sink.

_Please don't be upset, _she silently pleaded.

Suddenly Draco's mouth erupted into the widest smile she had ever seen in her entire time of knowing him, and relief spread through her body.

"Really?" he asked so excitedly Hermione had to laugh.

"Yes!"

Before she knew it she was being lifted off her feet and spun around in the air, all the while having kisses splashed across her face. Draco lay her back onto the bed and continued to kiss her.

"You're amazing. And thank you for telling me this time," he whispered against her mouth.

His kisses were long and slow, a great difference from the rate Hermione's heart was going. He soon quickened the pace however, and as things were clearly progressing into heated territory, Hermione finally understood why Ginny said that telling Draco shouldn't be done till they were alone.

He placed his hands on her thighs and began moving them upwards, taking her night dress with them. He began to trail wet kisses from the spot beneath her navel and up to her chest, causing her stomach to concave on itself unintentionally. It began to fill with butterflies at the thought of what they were going to do, but unlike the night before, she wasn't scared. She wanted it, more than she realized she had. He pulled her dress over her head and off her, and then quickly rid her of her panties, completely baring herself to him. He then took his shirt off as she tugged his boxers down with her fingers.

Hermione hadn't taken the opportunity the night before to admire Ron's body, but she found that she didn't care. As she took in Draco's naked form just a few inches above her, she knew there wasn't anyone else she wanted to see like this. He bent his head down to kiss her passionately, ridding her of any train of thought, and then lowered himself, easing his way into her, and causing her to make an audible gasp.

He began to move within her, and Hermione instinctively wrapped her legs around him. They both groaned as he slid in deeper, filling her all the way, and hitting a spot that Hermione didn't even know existed. She clutched onto his arms as his pace quickened, and she arched her hips into his.

It was so much different than it had been with Ron. Ron had set a pace that, while she enjoyed it, was impossible for her to match. She and Draco had somehow found a rhythm that just made everything feel a million times better. He continued to leisurely plunge his tongue in and out of her mouth, in sync with the rest of his body, while his hands roamed all over her_. _It was creating an indescribable sensation in her, and she felt like she could explode at any moment. She couldn't remember feeling this close to coming undone when she was Ron. In fact she was finding it hard to think at all. It all just kept building, and growing, until she was sure there was nowhere else for her to go. But she was wrong.

She moaned as he lifted them so they were sitting up, her legs still clutched around him. He kissed her hard as he thrust into her one last time, and she finally burst.

She was vaguely aware of someone screaming- no, two people screaming. It took her a couple more seconds to realize that one of them came from her, and the other yell must've been Draco. He lay her back against the bed, panting. She opened her eyes, but all she could see was darkness and white spots dancing across them, so she just closed them again. Draco's head was resting, unmoving, in the crook of her right shoulder, and she could feel his heavy breaths as he lay on top of her matching her own gasps for air.

He lifted his head up, propping himself up on his elbows so his weight was no longer on her, and rested his forehead against hers. He kissed her gently, and softly, his hands cradling her head and his fingers running through strands of her hair.

Hermione opened her eyes again when his lips left hers, her vision clearer now. He had a closed smile and a look in his gaze that she was sure was trying to tell her something.

_Draco's more subtle when it comes to his declarations of love,_ she remembered Ginny telling her.

And that was when she knew. Draco Malfoy loved her, and she loved him right back.

She blurted it out as he lazily began pressing kisses against her collar bone. "I love you."

He gave a small laugh, and she could feel his breath trailing up her neck and to her ear, making her shiver despite the heat between them.

"You too, Granger," he whispered as he tenderly bit her lobe. "You, too."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hello again :) Hope that wasn't too painful. I always find writing love scenes to be awkward, but I do it anyway haha.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** A big thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story after the last chapter. It really means a lot to me and motivates me to keep writing. Here's the next chapter, a further look into her life with Ron. Read and review!

* * *

><p>Hermione didn't know what time she finally fell asleep, but she knew she definitely did not feel rested. Not long after finishing their first round of love making, Draco had proceeded to engage her in round two, shortly followed by round three. She felt like she had just run a marathon and would need a whole day to recover.<p>

She wished she would've woken up in the same bed she had fallen asleep in, but she knew that it wasn't possible. She would either wake up in Hogwarts, or in the bed she shared with Ron. Judging by the large, cold space next to her, she was in the latter.

She slowly edged herself out of the bed, her body sore in a way she wasn't used to, but that she welcomed anyway.

She wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand, she had had an amazing night, but on the other hand, she now had to face a day with a disagreeable Ron. It would've been great if she had just woken back up in her own time, leaving off with last night. After all, her mother had always told her to _"go out with a bang!"_

She made her way to her bathroom and began to wash her face in the sink, letting the cold water wake her up. She was hunched over the sink with her eyes closed when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her. Startled, she flung her head and her hands up.

"Sorry!" she yelled as she turned around to see that it was only Ron. His shirt was now wet, and some of his face. He wiped it off with the tie he had hanging around his neck.

"It's fine," he said, grabbing a towel and proceeding to dry off her face. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. About last night. I shouldn't have reacted that way. I was just surprised is all."

"So you do want to have the baby?" she asked, even though his answer wouldn't really matter. Whether he wanted it or not, she did. Him feeling the same way would just make things better.

"I do. I really do. I know you're probably upset with me, but let me make it up to you. Let's go out tonight, just the two of us."

"Alright."

Hermione's mood picked up at Ron's apology, and the prospect of a night out where it would be only them.

He left her with a quick kiss on the lips, saying that he'd owl her with the details of their night later. Then she was once again alone in the house with two kids to get ready.

"Good morning Mummy," Rose smiled when she went into her room. The seven year old was already dressed and had a headband in her hair that was just as bushy as Hermione's was at that age. Hugo was also in the room, pulling Rose's books off the shelf.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, but I couldn't stop thinking about the baby! Can we name it Lily?"

"We don't even know if it's going to be a girl," Hermione laughed as she kneeled down next to Hugo. "Let's put these back," she told him, picking up a book from the messy pile he had made and putting it back on the shelf. He watched her for a second before following her actions. "And we already have a Lily in the family," she said, bringing her attention back to Rose.

"I know! That's _why. _Lily's my bestfriend and I want the baby to be named after my best friend."

"That's really sweet, Rosie. We'll see in a few months okay?"

"Fine," Rose sighed before traipsing off.

Hermione picked up Hugo and followed after her daughter, meeting her in the kitchen where she was already bringing out the cereal.

Their breakfast was filled with Rose's chatter of all the reasons why Lily was her best friend, along with Hugo's random bursts of unintelligible speech. Hermione didn't say much, but just grinned and laughed along with whatever her children said. She knew she was going to miss them whenever she left this constant back and forth of realities.

Eight thirty soon crept up on them, and in a matter of minutes Hermione had dropped both of her kids at their respective places, and found herself once again in her office at the Ministry.

Madeline brought her a strawberry smoothie this time, which thankfully didn't trigger any sudden bouts of nausea.

Hermione couldn't help but notice that her assistant was acting strange that morning. She had gotten used to Madeline being consistently upbeat and talkative, but the young woman was moving at a slower pace than usual and hadn't said anything other than what she was scheduled to do that day. She kept glancing at Hermione nervously, and even opened her mouth a few times as if she was going to say something, but then shut it a second later. Clearly, something was bothering her.

"Is everything alright?" Hermione asked her, worried.

"No, everything's perfectly fine," Madeline responded, though it was slightly shaky and had a hint of a stutter. "Perfectly, perfectly fine."

She had mumbled her last sentence to herself, though Hermione had been able to catch it. Usually Hermione would've pressed for more, but she decided against it. If Madeline wanted to tell her then she would tell her.

The next couple hours passed in a weird silence with Hermione busying herself with some paper work, while Madeline filed other documents next to her. This was a significant change from the last couple days where Hermione couldn't have gotten the brunette witch to shut up if she tried.

"I told Ron I'm pregnant," Hermione finally said, hoping it would get her talking.

"Really? What did he say?" Madeline answered, a hint of a squeak in her voice.

"He wasn't thrilled at first, but this morning he was fine with it."

"That's great!"

Madeline had said this with a little too much enthusiasm compared to her solemnity just a few seconds ago, and Hermione couldn't help but feel as if something was a little off.

"Yes, it is…" she said, eyeing her friend suspiciously. "We're going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. Just the two of us."

"How wonderful. Babies are exciting aren't they? Very, very exciting."

"Are you sure you're alright, Madeline?"

"I'm great," she piped.

"Okay," Hermione replied, though she wasn't convinced. She turned her attention to her clock, which had just struck noon, and decided that it was time for them both to take a break. "Let's go to lunch."

"Oh, is it that time already?" Madeline said, and Hermione nodded in affirmation. "I'm actually meeting a friend of mine for lunch, so I'll see you in an hour okay?" Madeline was gone before Hermione could say another word.

Not wanting to be alone during her lunch hour, she picked up her phone and called Ron hoping he would be available to eat with her. The phone rang for half a second before going to voicemail.

_He must still be on the pitch,_ she thought. She then dialed Ginny, knowing it would be a good opportunity to catch her friend up to speed on what was going on in her life. Thankfully the woman answered, and five minutes later Hermione was sitting with her in a small fish and chips restaurant in muggle London.

"So, tell me all about what you did in Draco Land yesterday," Ginny began, ready to hear the latest story.

"Well, it turns out I'm not just pregnant here. I'm pregnant there too."

"Seriously? That's crazy! And yet completely exciting. Would it be weird if I said I'm happy for you and Draco?"

"No," Hermione laughed. "Thank you."

"Did you tell him? Wait, did you tell Ron? I want to know that first."

Hermione sighed as she went into both of her husbands' reactions. Ginny frowned appropriately as she told her about Ron, and then grinned madly when she told her about Draco and the activities that transpired afterward.

"Okay, we're really going to have to talk about that, but first let's talk about Ron. I can't believe I'm going to say this out loud, but my brother is being a dick."

"Ginny!"

"Well he is! What kind of husband says he doesn't want your baby?"

Hermione didn't have an answer for her question, which was probably rhetorical, and remained quiet.

Ginny shook her head before speaking again. "He better get his act together or else I'll just… I don't know. Let's not talk about him anymore. Tell me about Draco. How was sleeping with the Slytherin Sex God?"

"The- _what_?"

"Slytherin Sex God. Oh, relax, it was just a rumour," Ginny said when she saw Hermione's hard glare. "He told me himself that Astoria was the first woman he had ever been with. That doesn't mean that the nickname isn't deserved though…. Is it?"

Hermione's face began to flush as the memories came back to her.

"Oh my god it's true." Ginny squealed. "Who was better? Him or Ron?"

"Well, considering that only Draco got me to… you know…" Hermione said, embarrassment settling in her bones.

"Is it getting hot in here or just me?" Ginny said, fanning herself. "And this happened after you told him you were pregnant?"

"Yes."

"How many times?"

"Three," Hermione replied, and she swiftly covered her face with her hands while Ginny giggled with glee.

"You, Hermione Granger, are one lucky, pregnant, bitch."

Although she didn't care for her use of language, Hermione couldn't help but smile smugly knowing that Ginny was right.

* * *

><p>Hermione was reluctant to return to work after her pleasant hour with Ginny. She wasn't sure how she'd be able to get through another couple hours with a despondent Madeline. Maybe she would be in a better mood after spending the hour with whoever she had met up with.<p>

"Hello again," Hermione said cheerfully as she stepped back into her office. Madeline was already there and working on organizing the documents Hermione had finished that morning.

"Hi," Madeline replied in the same glum voice she had been using all day.

_I guess lunch didn't improve anything, _Hermione thought. At that moment her mobile rang and she hurried to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi Babe."

"Ron," Hermione smiled, and she caught Madeline grimace out of the corner of her eye. "I called you earlier, but you didn't answer."

"Sorry, I was out on the pitch. About our dinner tonight, I'll meet you at home and then we can go eat somewhere in Diagon Alley. What do you think?"

"It sounds good to me."

"Just owl Mum and let her know the kids are going over."

"Okay."

"I'll see you at home then."

"Alright, see you at home."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Ron hung up, and Hermione did the same, all the while grinning giddily.

"That was Ron," she began to say to Madeline. "He's going to meet me at home, and then we're going to go out to a restaurant in Diagon Alley."

"Ron's cheating on you!" Madeline suddenly blurted out.

Hermione was frozen still in her chair as what she said began to register. "Ron's… _what?"_

"He's cheating on you."

"No. No." Hermione began to pace around her office, her heart pounding uncomfortably in her chest. "That can't be, you must be mistaken."

"I'm so sorry Hermione, but I'm not. That's why I've been like this all morning. I wasn't sure how to tell you, but I found out last night, and it's just been _eating _at me."

Hermione took a deep breath, trying to clear her suddenly muddled mind. "What do you mean you found out last night? Did someone tell you this?"

"No, I saw him with a woman last night. At this restaurant in Trafalgar Square."

"Are you sure it was him? Maybe it was someone else who just _looked_ like Ron."

Madeline looked at her apologetically, and shook her head. "I really wish that was the case Hermione, but it was him. No mistaking it."

Pacing around the room not making her feel any better, Hermione took a seat in her chair and pressed her head between her legs.

"I know you may not believe me, but… I can _show _you if want. The memory is as clear as day in my mind right now and Malfoy has a pensieve I'm sure he'd let us use."

Hermione sat back up and looked at her friend, pondering the suggestion she had just given. She had no reason to doubt her so far, but she _really_ didn't want to believe that Ron could be- she couldn't even think the word.

Did she really want to see the proof?

_Yes, you have to. You won't accept it if you don't. _

"Show me then," Hermione found herself saying, and Madeline left a second later. Less than five minutes passed before she was back, a pensieve in her hands. She placed it on the desk in front of Hermione and then took a deep breath before using her wand to extract the memory from her mind.

"There it is, it's not very long, maybe only a few-"

Hermione didn't even wait for Madeline to finish her sentence before plunging her head into the silvery substance.

She was immediately transported into Madeline's memory, appearing on a sidewalk of Trafalgar Square. Madeline was just a few feet away from her, and was soon joined by a man Hermione was sure she'd seen around their department floor. He kissed her on the cheek before taking her by the hand and walking her into the restaurant they were standing in front of. Hermione looked up to see that it was called _Thai Square. _

The maitre d' led them to a table near the entrance, and Madeline and her date both took a seat, while Hermione looked around the room for Ron. She didn't see him sitting anywhere, or anyone that Madeline could've possibly mistaken for him.

She turned her head back towards the doors when she heard them open, and stilled as the person she was waiting for strolled in, a skinny, dark haired beauty attached to his arm. The woman reached up to whisper something in his ear, and he let out a laugh, which was followed by a kiss to her lips.

Hermione felt her stomach turn, and her throat begin to constrict.

Madeline had been right.

Ron, _her _Ron, was cheating on her.

The maitre d' actually had to cough to get the couple's attention, they were so engrossed in each other. Hermione heard Ron tell the host that he was sorry, before allowing him to take them to a table.

They walked right past the table Madeline was at, which was how she saw them. Her gaze was focused on the two as they continued down, losing sight of them as they turned a corner.

"Did you know them?" Her date asked.

"It looked like that was my- no, no. It couldn't have been," Madeline said. She went back to read her menu, but Hermione could tell her friend's mind was nowhere near what she was going to have for dinner.

The area around Hermione began to blur and become fuzzy, and she felt a tug as she was brought back to the present. She lifted her head out of the basin, and met the eyes of Madeline staring straight at her.

Madeline had barely opened her mouth to speak when Hermione dipped her head back into the pensieve, watching the memory play out again.

Then she watched a third, a fourth, and a fifth time at which point Madeline had seen fit to stop her, pulling the basin away from her the moment her head came up that final time.

"Stop!" she cried.

Up until this time, Hermione had remained sober, going through the memory with a numbness over her body. The sound of Madeline's voice combined with being back in reality ended that feeling for her. Now, the meaning of it all came crashing down on her like a ton of ice bricks.

All of her held in emotions culminated in the urge to purge herself, and she fled from her office and to the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall and collapsed to her knees, and proceeded to expel everything she had eaten that day until she was sure her stomach lining and her throat were raw.

Then she cried, harder, and deeper than she could ever remember.

How could he do this to her? Didn't she love him enough? Didn't he love _her _enough?

What had she done to deserve this, this immense _hurt?_

Even though she'd only spent four days with him, she had learned of the life and the love they had shared, and the idea that he could throw it away like this was crushing her.

Hermione's stomach began to ache from crying, and was finding it increasingly harder to breathe.

Her breath hitched when she heard the bathroom door open.

"Granger?"

_Oh god, not him. Not now._

"Granger, I know you're in here."

He was right outside her stall now, and though she tried to halt her sobs, it was impossible.

"Are you okay in there?"

"I'm fine," she said, but it was cracked.

"Are you crying?"

"No," she hiccupped.

"You're lying."

Hermione didn't even bother arguing with him.

"Are you going to open the door or am I going to have to break it down?"

"You could just use your magic," Hermione gave a shaky laugh.

"Yeah, but you know how I like to be dramatic."

Hermione slowly stood up and unlatched the stall, letting it swing open. Both she and Draco took a step towards each other so that they were only a half a foot apart. He reached up with both his hands and swiped under her eyes with his thumbs. Hermione's stomach began to fill with the familiar butterflies she had come to associate with being near him.

She then realized that feeling this way around Draco in thislife was probably just as bad as what Ron was doing to her. She may not ever act on it, but physical or emotional, it was cheating all the same.

"What's the matter?" He whispered.

"I…" she began, taking a step back from him. "I have to go."

She quickly left, leaving Draco with no explanation, and calling after her.

She went back to her office, where Madeline was sitting with her head in her hands, though she looked up when Hermione entered.

"I'm going home," Hermione said, grabbing her purse and walking back out and towards the apparition hall without letting Madeline say a word.

She spent the next couple hours sitting in silence on the couch in the living room, processing everything. She realized that she didn't like the couch. It was too big, and uncomfortable, and fancy, and cold. The pillows on it weren't even made for lying on, and were hard instead of plush. In fact she didn't like the room she was in at all. Like her first thoughts had been when she arrived in this life, the whole room was fit more for a hotel lobby than a home.

Hermione laughed as she realized that her anger had wandered to becoming upset over the furniture in her home.

The clock soon struck two, and Hermione knew she had to get up and get her children. She apparated to Rose's school, and upon spotting Rose's teacher, remembered what the woman had told her the last time she was there.

_She's a beautiful dark brunette with such striking blue eyes I'd swear they aren't her original color. About your size._

Those were the words Mrs. Holmes had used to describe who had picked Rose up. They were also the same words Hermione would've used to describe the woman she had seen with Ron in Madeline's memory.

Miranda Loren. That's who Ron said it was. His publicist.

His mistress.

Hermione controlled her anger and disgust as she collected Rose, and then went to get Hugo.

She took them to the park, playing and laughing with them, hoping it would make her feel better, but all it did was make her even more sad.

When they returned home she gave both of the kids a bath, getting them ready for their night with Molly Weasley.

_Oh crap, _Hermione thought as she realized she hadn't owled her yet. _Maybe I won't and we just won't go out tonight._

Hermione quickly decided against that though. She wasn't ready to confront Ron yet, and suddenly not wanting to go out would probably just make him suspicious. So she went to her study, and penned an owl to Molly asking if she could watch the kids for a couple hours.

"Hello love."

Hermione jumped at the voice, even though she knew it was Ron. The moment she looked at him her stomach turned over.

"Hi," she said.

"Are you just sending that out now?"

"Oh yes, I got sidetracked and didn't have time until now."

"Well, it doesn't matter much anyway, it's not like she's doing anything else."

Hermione frowned at Ron's assumption of his mother, but didn't make any further comments.

"I'm going to go get ready," she said, and she allowed him to hug her and place a kiss on her cheek before retreating to their room.

* * *

><p>"So where in Diagon Alley would you like to go?" Ron asked, taking her hand in his. Hermione had to resist the urge to snatch it back.<p>

"Actually, I was thinking we could go eat out in muggle London. There's this restaurant in Trafalgar Square I want to go to, _Thai Square_ I believe it's called."

Hermione noticed Ron's face get a little paler, and his hand stiffen over hers.

"Really? Thai food?" He said, crinkling his nose.

"Yes, Thai food."

Ron obliged, even though he naturally didn't look too pleased about her choice.

"Good evening," the maitre d' Hermione recognized from the pensieve greeted them. "Here again I see Mr. Wesley."

"Uh, no, you must have me mistaken for someone else," Ron hastily corrected him. "It's Mr. Weasley."

"Table for two then Mr. Weasley," the man said, but not before raising his eyebrows in confusion.

Hermione refrained from asking the question she already knew the answer to, and followed him to their table.

They had ordered their drinks and chosen what to eat before Ron decided to engage her in conversation. He had been waiting for her to say something from the moment they sat down, but Hermione wasn't in the mood to start. If he spoke to her than she would answer.

"I can't believe you're pregnant," he smiled as he took a sip of the whiskey he had ordered.

"Me either."

"How are you feeling?"

"Not too great, but I'm sure it'll pass."

"I'm sure it will." He paused before starting again. "I really am sorry about last night. I want this baby, I do. We'll just have to make some adjustments."

"Like?"

"Well I was hoping you'd be able to accompany me on tour, but you'll probably just want to stay home."

"Probably."

"But I would love it if you'd come along." He reached over the table and placed his hand over hers, stroking it with his fingers.

"I'll think about it," Hermione said, attempting a smile.

"How was work today?"

"It was fine. Just the usual paper work. Getting things sorted out from the meeting with Niemi and Malfoy."

Ron sneered as soon as she said Draco's name. "Do you see Malfoy often?"

"Only when work requires it," Hermione said smoothly. "But he stopped by yesterday to make sure I was okay after running out on Monday's meeting from being sick."

"Of course he did," Ron scoffed.

Their food showed up then, thankfully halting the conversation. They ate without speaking, Ron still in a sour mood from the topic of Draco. Their waiter cleared away their plates and then they waited for their check to be brought to them.

As they sat there in continued silence, Hermione knew she could no longer hold it in.

"Ron," she began, approaching it carefully. "Would you…would you ever cheat on me?"

Ron visibly stiffened in his seat, but his face remained surprisingly calm. "No," he said without stuttering. "Why would you ask me that?"

"It's just something that came up with a friend of mine and it made me curious," she made up.

"The answer is no. I would _never _cheat on you. Ever."

_Liar._

Their server returned, but instead of coming with the check, he placed two plates of cake slices in front of them.

"These are from the gentlemen over there," he said. Both Hermione and Ron looked over to where he was pointing, and Hermione saw Julian Niemi sitting at a table with another man, waving at them. He stood up from his seat and motioned for his company to do the same, making his way over to Hermione.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley," he said, kissing her on the hand. "Glad to see you're feeling better."

"Yes, I am, thank you," she smiled at him.

"This is my brother, Liam." Julian gestured to the man next to him. "Liam, this is the feisty woman I've been talking about who works in the Wizard and Muggle Relations Department."

"Pleasure to meet you," Liam said, shaking her hand.

"Ronald Weasley, her husband," Ron introduced himself with a glare, and he shook both their hands.

"Well, we better take off," Julian said uncomfortably after Ron's cold introduction. "Enjoy the dessert. It was nice to see you Hermione."

"You, too," Hermione replied, and they went on their way.

"You're sleeping with him aren't you?" Ron exclaimed the moment they were out of ear shot.

"_What_? I-"

"Don't think that I didn't notice the way you two looked at each other."

"_What way?_" Hermione hissed angrily, trying to keep her voice down.

"And I thought it was Draco _Malfoy_ I had to worry about. Turns out I should've been watching Julian Niemi!"

"Ron, stop. You're making a scene."

"Is that why you asked me if I'm cheating on you? To keep the suspicion off of yourself?"

"No." Hermione clenched her teeth and her fists. This was not how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to call out _him._

Ron closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, and then took a breath. "I'm sorry, that was out of line. I don't know why I said that." He grabbed his fork and began to attack his slice of cake. Hermione did the same, though much more gently.

Nothing was said for the rest of the time, and Hermione picked up the kids from Molly's by herself.

Ron wasn't home when she returned, and for that night she preferred it that way.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Hallo :) Thank you for all the responses to the last chapter, they really made my day. Here's the next one, another Dramione day. Read and Review!

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><p>Hermione woke up to the feeling of soft kisses being pressed against her shoulder. She was spooned against Draco, but she rolled over onto her back, his face greeting hers with a smirk.<p>

"Good morning," he said as he bent down to kiss her on the lips.

"Morning," she replied, even though she was still a little out of it. The memories of her last night with him came back to her, and she felt her face heat up. They had made love not once, not twice, but _three _times. After the last one they had reluctantly gotten dressed, her in a silk night dress and him in a pair of black sweats, before crawling back into the bed next to each other and falling asleep.

Draco maneuvered himself over her, and he kissed her fervently on the mouth before pulling away from her and skimming down the length of her body with his nose. He stopped at the one place she feared he would, sliding her night dress up so she was no longer covered from her breasts down. Hermione's nerves began to react, not knowing what he was planning on doing, though she had a pretty good idea.

"Draco…" she gulped as he spread her legs apart and lifted them over his shoulder. She had almost clamped them back together, and told him to stop, but she thought better about it. "What about the kids?" She asked instead.

"They won't be up for at least another hour," he said, and without further interruption he dipped his tongue into her core. Her eyes involuntarily rolled back in reaction to the new sensation, and she bit down on her lower lip.

Hermione was lost. She had definitely never done this before, and it wasn't something they really talked about in health books. She suddenly found herself unable to think, speak, or breath. It was as if all her mental functions had decided to leave for the time being.

She didn't know how long she lay there with Draco having his way with her, but she knew was close. Close to spontaneously combusting from the pressure that was gathering in her. Her hips were bucking up uncontrollably, and the moment she came, she swore she was floating in air.

She brought her hand up to her mouth to cover her scream, but Draco pushed it away as he moved back up to meet her, replacing it with his own mouth.

He was back within her in a matter of seconds, and it felt like less than a minute later before she was exploding again, him following soon after.

He collapsed on top of her, both of them breathing heavily, and they lay there for a good couple of minutes. He then propped himself up on his elbows and lifted himself off the bed. "Let's shower," he said, taking her hands and pulling her up.

"Together?" She wondered, although it was pretty clear from his use of the word, _let's_.

"Of course- you know, conserve water and all that stuff they try to tell us," he smirked.

Hermione was sure that what they did in the shower did not qualify as conserving water, especially when they took twice as long as they would have had they been by themselves. All it did was leave her a hot, panting, blubbering, wet mess against the tile wall.

She was only half aware when Draco shut the water off and grabbed a towel from the rack, proceeding to dry her off from head to toe. He wrapped it securely around her before getting one for himself. By this time Hermione had managed to gather her wits, and was able to get herself out of the shower.

Ginny had been right about another thing. If she and Draco didn't have other important things to do in their lives they _wouldn't _leave the bedroom.

"I really wish I didn't have to work," Draco said, putting on his Mungo's attire.

"Even if you didn't we still have three kids to look after, and one on the way," Hermione laughed, getting dressed herself.

"There are plenty of people who would take care of them for us."

"That might be true, but you'd miss them."

"You're right, as usual. It's nice to think about though." He began to fix his hair in the mirror, and Hermione did the same. She smiled at their reflections, enjoying the normal, and yet not normalcy of it all.

"What are you thinking about?" Draco asked, noticing her slight grin.

"Nothing," she blushed. "I just like this, getting ready next to you."

Draco just chuckled, shaking his head. "The things you say sometimes Granger. Anyway, _I _was thinking that we should go to Australia this summer. We can leave the kids with your parents, and we can have a little vacation of our own."

He was finished with his hair now, and put his arms around Hermione's waist, lowering his lips to her neck to kiss it.

"Don't start that again," Hermione giggled, lifting her shoulder to nudge him away. "You have to go to work in half an hour."

"Fine," he groaned.

"But I do like your vacation idea, pending that I'm allowed to fly."

"If you're not then we'll give the kids to the Potters and have one closer to home."

There was a banging on their bedroom door, and Hermione went to open it.

"GOOD MORNING!" Scorpius screeched, running past Hermione and into the arms of his father.

"I'll go wake up the other two," Hermione smiled, as Scorpius began to tell Draco about a dream he had that included dragons.

Ariel was already awake in her room, attempting to put on a pink ballerina outfit.

"Dressing ourselves I see," Hermione said, and she went to help the little girl get her legs through the proper holes of the leotard.

"Today is dancing day!" she said excitedly. She took a twirl as soon as Hermione snapped the straps in place over her shoulders.

_Dancing day? _Hermione wondered.

"See Mummy? I looked at the calder where the ballerina sticker is just like you told me to!"

Hermione went over to the calendar Ariel was pointing at and saw the ballerina sticker she was talking about placed in the box for Wednesday, the nineteenth of March.

What did it mean though? Did they just spend the day dancing with each other? Was there an actual class they went to? She'd just have to owl or call Ginny about it as soon as possible.

"How's my princess this morning?" Draco said, coming into the room with Pollux in his arms. Hermione promptly stole him away, wanting to hold her youngest.

"Today is dancing day!" Ariel squealed.

"Is it really?" Draco picked her up and spun her around. "That's the best day of the week!"

"I know it is Daddy! But can we eat first? I'm hungry."

Both Hermione and Draco laughed, and then followed Ariel as she pirouetted down the hall.

"Wait for me!" Scorpius yelled as he joined them.

"They really have too much energy in the morning," Hermione said.

"As long as they get along and don't break anything, it's fine with me," Draco chuckled. "Besides, you could say the same about us."

He winked at her as he said this, and Hermione's face flushed as she caught up on his meaning.

They ate waffles for breakfast, and bid Draco goodbye when the time came. Not long after he left, Ginny called letting Hermione know that Ariel did indeed have a dance class along with Lily at nine that morning.

At eight-thirty she dropped Scorpius off at school, meeting Ginny and Lily in front of the classroom, before apparating with them to the Leaky Cauldron.

"So the girls have dance class every Wednesday?" she asked Ginny as they made their way into muggle London.

"Every Wednesday. I'm surprised she didn't say anything to you. Lily doesn't shut up about it from the minute they get out to the minute they return."

It took them ten minutes to reach the dance studio, and Hermione and Ginny barely got to get in a "Goodbye," or "See you in an hour," before their daughters sprinted away from them.

"So, talk to me," Ginny started as soon as they took their seats on a bench outside the building. "I want to know all about what happened after the restaurant first, and then we can get into whatever happened in your life with Ron. Begin now."

"Well, we put the kids to bed, and then I told him I was pregnant," Hermione said simply, knowing Ginny would be dying from her lack of detail.

"And then he ecstatically ravished you on your bed like the passionate man he is?" She asked with a shimmy of her shoulders.

"Yes," Hermione smiled.

"Happens ev-ery-tme," Ginny smirked. "Careful, you might get knocked up twice."

"That's medically impossible."

"Not if Draco's _tongue _has anything to say about it," she said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, causing Hermione's face to redden even more.

"Do you have some secret spying camera planted in our room or something? Or did you sneak Harry's invisibility cloak and come watch us?"

"I just know how he works when it comes to these things," she smirked. "Thanks to you of course," she added with a nod.

"Okay… as great as it is to know you and I are comfortable talking about our sex lives, why don't we move on to what happened with Ron."

"Did things get better?"

"Not _exactly,_" Hermione began, and she started to feel miserable as she remembered everything that had happened. "He said he was sorry about his reaction, and he took me out to dinner that night."

"That's good-"

"But I also found out he's cheating on me."

This shut Ginny up for a good five seconds before she lost it. "He's _what_?! Merlin, I'm going to kill that jerk! Who the hell does he think he is?"

She was halfway out of her seat before Hermione tugged her back down. "Ginny! The Ron _here _didn't do anything!"

"Oh, right. Sorry." She sat back down and took a cleansing breath. "How did you find this out?"

"My assistant Madeline showed me her memory of seeing him at Thai Square on Tuesday night. That's probably why he didn't show up to the dinner I had with you," Hermione realized.

"Is it someone you know?"

"Not anyone I remember knowing. I know her name's Miranda though, and she's his publicist. She's also the woman who picked Rose up from school."

"I really want to hit something right now," Ginny flared. "You seem to be…coping."

"I cried for a while after I found out, and I'm still upset, but being here somehow makes me feel better."

"It's probably because you have a husband in this life that's _not _cheating on you," Ginny said. "And don't you ever doubt that."

"I've been reminding myself not to."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I…really don't know. What do you think?"

"I think it's time to leave him," she said, and Hermione's heart sank at the idea. "You deserve better. You deserve someone that loves you."

"But he does love me," Hermione said, but she knew it was a lie.

"Okay, let's take the opportunity to analyze this, since you're in a unique situation where you actually have situations you can compare. Tell me what your typical day with Ron has been."

"I wake up, and he's already getting ready. He's usually gone before we have a chance to eat breakfast together. I get Rose and Hugo up, and we eat together, and then I take Rose to school and Hugo to daycare. I go to work until I pick up the kids at two. I play with them until dinnertime, which lately has been spent out with you and Harry. When we get home I get them ready for bed and then I wait for Ron to get home from whatever it is he's doing."

Even as Hermione said it she could tell what a loveless life she was depicting. Nothing in there except for the kids sounded like the happy family she had thought she had been a part of.

"Now tell me about a typical day with Draco," Ginny continued.

"I wake up and he's there next to me, showing me that he'd rather just lie in bed with me than do anything else. We get the kids ready together, and eat breakfast together, and he kisses me goodbye before he leaves, and he doesn't leave in a hurry. I bring Scorpius to school and then spend my time with you. When Draco comes home he asks me how I am, and he plays with the kids. We've had dinner with you every night so far. When we get home he helps put the kids to bed, and then we go to bed together."

"See the difference," Ginny said once Hermione finished. "One husband is distant, and not just with you, but with your children, and for reasons we are now clear about. The other chooses to spend every moment of the day with you and your kids, except for when he has to be at work. I think it's obvious which one loves you Hermione."

"Yeah," Hermione said softly. "I think you're right."

"Do you really want to stay with someone who is just going to make you miserable?"

"No, but we don't even know how long I'm going to be here."

"I know, but as long as you are, you need to start living it the way you want to. Speaking of which, I was looking through this book of charms last night and it has a whole section on the Disparem Charm. I read through it and didn't find anything helpful, but I've never been great at analyzing things, so I might have missed something."

Ginny handed Hermione a book that was about an inch thick and titled _Charming Charms._

"Thanks Gin, I'll take a look at it. See if there's anything that'll help me out of this, or at least understand what's going on."

After the dance class had finished, she and Ginny had done a little shopping before going to pick up the boys from school at two. After that they had each gone back to their own houses, and Hermione had put the kids down for naps.

She found that she was quite tired herself. Physically and emotionally.

Most of all she was tired of thinking.

She had read the section of the book Ginny gave her, but nothing it said described what she was experiencing. All it told her was that what was happening to her was impossible with this charm, or any other charm. Obviously, that wasn't the case.

Hermione continued to wonder what she was going to do if she continued to go back and forth between the two lives.

Should she return to the other life in the morning, she knew living in the same house with Ron, or at least sharing a room with him, wasn't going to be something she could do. She would have to tell him what she knew, and ask him to leave.

She didn't know how she had been so blinded about it before, especially after the days she spent with Draco as her husband. Ron was hardly ever there, and when he was he barely paid attention to her, or Rose and Hugo. How could she think of that as love? More importantly, he was _cheating _on her.

No, her life with Ron had to end.

Exhausted, she went back to her room and crawled under the covers, making herself comfortable and trying to clear her mind of everything. Before she knew it she had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>Hermione jerked awake, and the first thing she noticed was that the sun had nearly set, it's last rays of light finding their way through the blinds over the window. She rubbed her eyes for a split second before jumping out of the bed, realizing that she had slept for far longer than she had intended, and that neither Scorpius nor Ariel had come to wake her up. That couldn't have been a good sign.<p>

She hurried over to her eldest son's room, and his bed was empty. Ariel's room was in the same state, and Hermione began to panic when Pollux wasn't in his crib.

By this time the sun had completely gone down and it was dark in the hallway and the entire house. She was just about to reach for the light switch, when they came on. She was pretty sure she had achieved jumping out of her skin, when Draco came up the stairs.

"You scared me half to death!"She yelled, though she wasn't really upset.

"Well at least half of you is still alive," he quipped. "Sorry, I thought you were still in the room, I came to get you."

"Where are the kids?"

"I brought them to my mother's for the night."

"Why?"

"Because last night you told me you were pregnant and I thought we should celebrate," he smiled.

He took her by her hands and guided her down the stairs and into the kitchen. There was music playing from a music player she recalled Scorpius referring to as an ipod. As it hit her ears she realized that it was playing her favorite album, _Rumours,_ by the band Fleetwood Mac. In the middle of the dining table was a vase of daffodils, white ones like she remembered her mother growing in their garden when she was younger. On either side of the table were plates that held servings of all her Chinese food favorites.

"I thought we'd stick with tradition, so I ordered some Chinese take-out," Draco said, pulling out her seat for her so she could sit down.

"You did all this for me?" Hermione said in awe.

"Of course, who else would I do it for?"

He took his seat on the opposite side, and they both began to eat.

"How was dancing day?" he asked with a grin.

"Fun. She refused to take off her dress as you probably noticed."

"Nothing new there. It's a good thing she's a vain little girl who can't wear the same thing twice in a row or we'd have really smelly tutus."

"How was Mungo's?"

"Just finished up all the paper work for the potion explosion the other day, and then went around making sure everyone was doing their job. Nothing too exciting," Draco said with a shrug. "So I was thinking that we shouldn't tell the kids about the baby until you start showing like last time, even though they are older now."

"I was thinking the same thing," Hermione said, even though she hadn't given it any thought at all.

"We should probably get them all something too when we do, mostly for Ariel's sake. She's just started to accept that Pollux is here to stay, and the announcement of another baby might send her on a war path."

"That's a good idea," Hermione laughed. "Maybe we should get her another ballet outfit."

"Or we could get them that dog we've been promising them."

Hermione looked at Draco with an incredulous look on her face. As far as she knew, Draco had been averse to dogs of any kind ever since meeting Fenrir Greyback during the war. She guessed he had gotten over it in the time since then. "I suppose we could."

They continued to eat and talk until almost all the food was gone, thanks to Hermione.

Draco got up and opened one of the cabinets, pulling out a box wrapped in purple paper. "I got you something," he said, placing it in front of her.

"You didn't have to do that," Hermione blushed.

"But I did anyway. Open it."

She did as she was told and unwrapped the gift, revealing a velvet jewelry box. She opened it, and inside was a golden, heart-shaped locket on a chain.

"Oh Draco…" she sighed, lifting it out. She opened the locket so that the two halves of the heart showed, and on one side was a picture of Draco and herself at their wedding, while the other side kept changing every couple seconds to show one of her three kids. "It's beautiful. I love it."

She reached over to him, and cupped his chin so she could bring his face to hers and kiss him.

"I thought you would," he smiled, and then he placed his hand over her belly. "When you have this one I'll have it charmed again so it has their picture in it too."

"Thank you."

He kissed her once more before standing her up so they could go upstairs.

Hermione sat on her bed, thinking about how different her night had gone compared to the night before. Despite how amazing Draco was being though, she couldn't help the doubts that were beginning to enter her insecure mind. Ron was cheating on her, something she would've believed was completely impossible up until yesterday. What if Draco was too? It was because of this that Hermione asked her next question.

"Draco?"

"Hmm?" He responded as he removed his tie from around his neck and hung it on a hook along with his many others.

"Have you…ever cheated on me?"

"_What_?" he said, his face snapping towards hers, flabbergasted. "No! What kind of question is that?"

_Yeah, Hermione, what kind of question is that? He just surprised you with dinner, flowers, and a gold locket, and now you want to ask him if he's ever cheated on you?_

"I just… I need to know."

"No," he said. "Of course not."

Hermione could tell that he wasn't lying, but that didn't stop her from asking another. "Have you ever thought about it?"

"Granger, why are you asking me this?" he asked, looking at her seriously.

"Just answer the question Draco, please."

He sighed and was silent for a few moments, but didn't show any signs of leaving. Finally he spoke. "Once, after one of our fights when we first got married. I went to a bar in muggle London and had a few drinks, but not enough to be actually drunk. There was this girl sitting next to me- I don't even remember what she looks like in the slightest- but she was trying to get me to leave with her. She whispered some naughty things into my ear actually. For a second I considered giving into temptation, and then I thought about what would happen if I did it, if I left with her."

Draco was standing in front of his dresser now, with his hands grasping the top edge, his eyes gazing at nothing but its dark wood. "And then I thought about you. Granted, you were on my mind the entire time, but all thoughts had been 'Man that woman drives me crazy'. But at that moment all I could think was how I would never forgive myself if I ever did anything to hurt you, the one person other than my parents who has stood by me through everything. And I thought about how much I love you, and how it would kill me if I ever lost you. I apparated back home before she could get too close. You were already asleep on the bed, but I could tell you'd been crying. I lay down next to you and wrapped my arms tightly around you, and I told you I was sorry and that I loved you. I haven't had a weak moment like that since."

Hermione was sitting on the bed with her head hung, staring at the floor in front of her as she listened to Draco. She felt relieved that he'd never done anything, and could look past his one instance of vulnerability.

Misunderstanding her posture for dejection, Draco quickly made his way over to her and crouched down in front of her. He lifted her chin up so that she was looking up at him.

"Granger, there is no one in this world I love more than you, no one who has ever given me more happiness than you and Scorpius, Ariel, and Pollux. You four are my world, and I would be the stupidest person in the universe if I ever messed up what we have."

Before he could say another word, Hermione kissed him, melding their lips together. Draco snaked his arms around her, pulling her in closer.

_So this is what it's like to be _completely_ in love with someone,_ Hermione thought, feeling a level of elation she couldn't remember experiencing before.

After a few moments they broke apart, and Draco rested his forehead against hers, twirling his fingers through the curls of her hair. "So are you going to tell me what that was all about? Or am I just going to have to wonder what I could have done to warrant such questions?"

"It wasn't anything you did," Hermione assured him. "It's just one of my co-workers. She thought everything was perfect living in her beautiful house, with her two young children, and her husband of seven years. Then she finds out he's been having an affair with his secretary for the past 10 months,"

"That's terrible. What's she going to do?

"She doesn't know yet. She hasn't even confronted him about it."

"I'm sure she'll figure out what the best thing to do would be, especially with you as her friend," Draco said, kissing her on the head.

"Thanks," Hermione smiled at his confidence in her.

"Now, let's stop all this talk of affairs and cheating spouses. I got _Slumdog Millionaire_ on Blu-ray for us and I would love to watch it with you."

"Sounds good to me."

Hermione made herself comfortable on the bed as Draco set the movie up and then joined her.

"Have _you_ ever-?" he suddenly asked, turning towards her.

"I thought we were leaving behind all talk of affairs and cheating spouses," Hermione chuckled, but she knew she had better answer when she saw Draco frown. "No, never," she said truthfully. After all, whatever she did with Ron was in another reality and meant nothing here.

"Of course not," Draco smirked. "Who in their right minds would cheat on the glorious being that is me? Ow!" he yelped as Hermione playfully punched him in the shoulder before snuggling into him.


	10. Chapter 10

Ron still wasn't home when Hermione got up in the morning and found herself in the bed she shared with him. She figured he was either at work, or out somewhere with his _publicist_. The thought left her angry, but at the same time it reinforced her decision to eject him from her life.

She had always been a believer in doing anything and everything possible to save a marriage, but not when it came to cheating. That was something she would not condone, especially when the guilty party wasn't showing any signs of guilt.

It was kind of ironic, that he was the one upset with her at the moment over some perceived notion that _she_ was cheating. At least, it would be if she didn't already know the truth. It was actually somewhat smart of him, making himself look like the victim to take any heat off of him.

Since Ron wasn't there, it meant Hermione would just have to confront him later. This gave her time to plan exactly what she was going to say to him when the time came. She wanted to be strong when she said it, not some meek, tongue-tied, blundering idiot.

Meanwhile she still had to get the kids ready for the school and daycare. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain to them why their father had to leave, but she put it on her mind's priority to-do list for the day.

When she got to work, Madeline was already impatiently waiting for her in her office.

"Hi. How was last night? Did you talk to him? What did you say? What did _he _say?" Were the questions that spilled out of her mouth.

"We went out to dinner," Hermione said, putting her things down and taking a seat in her chair. Madeline handed her a drink, once again from the local Starbucks, though she didn't announce what it was.

"You still went out with him?"

"Yes. To that same Thai place actually."

Hermione proceeded to tell Madeline everything about her night with Ron, starting from his discomfort when she decided they should eat at _Thai Square_, right down to the incident with Julian Niemi.

"Are you serious? He actually had the nerve to accuse _you _of cheating on him?"

"Yep. And then he left me at the restaurant and wasn't home when I got back."

"_What _a- you know I can't even think of words adequate enough to describe what he is. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave him, or rather I'm going to make him leave. I'm going to tell him that I know and tell him to leave the house."

"And what if he refuses?"

"Then I guess I'll have to be the one to leave. I refuse to stay in the same place as him right now."

Hermione hoped it wouldn't come to that though. She wasn't sure where she would go.

When she met up with Ginny a little over two hours later, she wasn't sure where to begin. Ginny had been at work the other day when Hermione had found out about Ron's indiscretions, so they had a lot to talk about.

It was easier than Hermione thought it was going to be. It helped that this Ginny wasn't on great terms with her brother. Once again, Hermione had to hold her back from giving Ron a piece of her mind once she had finished telling her everything.

"I'm never speaking to him again if I don't have to," she seethed. "And I'll make sure the entire family knows what an idiotic as-"

"Ginny!"

"What a prick he is," Ginny said. "And I always knew Miranda was a slut."

"Why did I ever allow Ron to hire her?"

"Because you're trusting Hermione, and that's great for most things, but sometimes you've got to be a little paranoid and jealous."

"I really hope I don't stay in this life long enough to meet her. I might end up going to Azkaban."

"Well if that happens I'll take great care of your children," Ginny offered. "When are you telling him you know?"

"Tonight, once the kids are in bed. I don't want them to be around for whatever is going to happen. I'm going to ask him to leave."

"Well power to you 'Mione. And don't take no for an answer."

"I'll try," Hermione said morosely.

"Hey, it'll be okay," Ginny gave her a hug. "I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Gin."

"We're heading up to Wales tonight for some mandatory auror conference Harry has to be at, but don't hesitate to call me. I should get going actually, I have to get the kids ready to bring to Mum's."

"Alright then. I'll just see you tomorrow."

"Remember, 'Mione, call me if you need _anything_," Ginny said sternly.

Hermione nodded and then parted from her friend, returning to work for the rest of the day.

She was walking towards her office when she spotted Draco coming from the opposite direction. She noticed him speed up when he caught sight of her, and she hurried inside her office, locking the door behind her.

"Something the matter?" Madeline asked, already resuming her tasks from earlier.

"Draco. I ran into him yesterday after using the pensieve, and then I ran _away _from him when he asked what was wrong."

Madeline pointed her wand at the door and then uttered some charm. "There," she smiled. "If he knocks- well, if anyone knocks for that matter- we won't hear it."

"Thanks."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to him?" She asked slyly. "He would be a _great _person to talk to. He'd probably take all of your worries away."

"_Madeline!"_

"I'm just saying…." She sung.

The next few hours passed by in a blur, and Hermione became steadily anxious as it neared time to go home. She couldn't stop playing out exactly how it was going to go through her head, and at the same time she kept sneaking glances at the door, wondering if Draco was persistently trying to get her to answer.

When two minutes to two o'clock came she carefully opened the door, and smothered the disappointed feeling she got when Draco was not outside. She said goodbye to Madeline and then left to pick up Rose and Hugo.

She tried her best to act as normal as possible for them, and as far as she could tell, they didn't suspect anything was amiss. It helped that Ron wasn't there to make things awkward.

She didn't know what time he'd come home tonight, but it didn't keep her from hearing every tick of the clock as the seconds, and then the minutes, and then the hours passed by.

Just as she was clearing the table, the familiar _pop_ of apparition sounded in her ears, and she steeled herself for one of the hardest conversations of her life.

* * *

><p>"Those two wear me out," Ron sighed, falling onto the couch. The kids had been so happy to see him that, even though it was already eight o'clock, she had let them stay up a little longer. He ate his dinner and then played with them for a grand total of ten minutes before handing Hermione back the reigns to put them to bed.<p>

"You barley spent time with them," Hermione said bitterly.

"Because they wear me out!" Ron exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Well, I'm going to go up now, too."

He was barely up from his seat when Hermione spoke. "No."

It was amazing how a curt, one-syllable, two –letter word could get someone to stop in their tracks.

"No?"

He looked at her incredulously as he slowly stood up to his full stature. She tried to not let the fact that he was a full head taller than her sway her determined stance.

"No," she said again.

He must've not grasped her tone and her stern expression, because his next sentence nearly made her want to strangle him. "Did you have something else planned for us tonight?" He asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows. He had even begun to reach out to put his hands around her waist, but she stepped back.

"Don't touch me," she spat.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"_What's wrong?_ What's wrong is you sneaking around with your publicist doing who knows what, that's what's wrong!"

She half expected him to play it off like he had the night before, but it was too late for that. His face had turned to stone, the color draining from it, a clear reaction of someone who had just been caught. He was so still, all Hermione had to do was poke him with a finger and she was sure he'd fall over.

"I-" he started and then stopped. "How did you find out?"

"Madeline. She showed me her memory of you and _Miranda_ at the restaurant Tuesday night. Did you really think it was just a coincidence that I had you take me there?"

"One could only hope," he stammered.

"I want you to leave," Hermione finally said.

"'Mione, please don't do this. I'm sorry, I should never have done it. It was a mistake!"

It was the first time Hermione could remember Ron showing any real emotion throughout her entire time here. Unfortunately it had to be one of pleading, and it wasn't becoming in the slightest.

"No, you need to go," she said as confidently as she could. She could feel her eyes beginning to smart, her body's usual reaction to upsetting situations, but she held it in.

"No, come on Babe." He had regained his power to move and was advancing towards her. "We can get passed this. I love you for goodness sakes!"

"But you _don't _Ron! You don't do something like this when you love someone."

"I made a _mistake_ 'Mione. It won't happen again, I promise. I only want you."

"Well then I guess we have another problem, because I don't want you," she admitted. "You need to go."

"No," he said, using the same tone she had for the word, and then he scoffed. "You really think I'm going to go so easily?"

"If you won't go then I will." Hermione turned around to start heading for the stairs when she was suddenly pulled back.

"You're staying _here_," Ron said firmly, his hand clutching her forearm. "We are going to be a happy family again. And we are going to forget this ever happened."

"Ron, you're _hurting_ me."

It didn't seem to bother him though, for he just brought her closer, wrapping his arms around her so she couldn't get out. "_Stop!_" she cried as he began to press kisses against her neck.

"I'm going to make you remember how great we are together," he said, and without further ado he latched himself onto her mouth, ignoring her protests. His hands began to roam under her shirt as he led them backwards and up against a wall, using his body to pin her in place.

_Oh god, _Hermione thought in a panic, wondering how she was going to get him off of her. Then it hit her. _My wand. _

She reached into the side of her jeans and pulled out her wand, silently thanking herself for deciding to keep it lodged there just in case.

She waited until he released himself from her to take a breath, and then quickly placed her wand against his temple.

"_Stupefy!" _

She gasped as Ron fell limp against her, his eyes wide in surprise. She pushed him off of her, his body landing with a _thump_ onto the floor, and then ran up the stairs Rose's room.

She let out a startled gasp when she found her daughter sitting on her bed, a duffel bag already packed and sitting next to her.

"Are we going now Mummy?" she asked. Hermione just nodded, not having time to wonder how her daughter knew to be ready.

"Can you get Hugo?" She bid her.

Rose jumped off of her bed in affirmation and headed to her brother's room, while Hermione ran over to her own. She grabbed a suitcase she had seen earlier from her closet, and then cast a spell that caused everything important she needed to fall into it. It only took a second, which was good since she was on limited time before Ron would return to normal.

She went back to Hugo's room and picked her son up in hers arms, then she grabbed Rose's hand and bounded down the stairs and to the garage. She instructed Rose to strap Hugo inside the car, and then herself, while she went back inside the house and got their things.

She gave one last glance towards Ron, making sure he was still in his frozen form, before joining her kids.

Then she drove. She drove, and she drove, and she drove until she was satisfied with the distance she had put between her and the house. She pulled off to the side, and then took a shuddery breath before resting her head against the steering wheel.

She couldn't believe what Ron had almost done. She had thought that if he had refused to leave and she decided to go it would've been okay. She had been wrong, though. Very wrong. Now she had two reasons not to be with him.

There was another important matter at hand however. Where was she going to go? Ginny and Harry were out of town, and she didn't want to be anywhere that Ron could find them at the moment, which meant the Burrow and any other Weasley home was off limits. She supposed she could go to Madeline's, but she had no idea where she lived.

"I'm sorry about Daddy, Mummy," Rose said quietly from behind Hermione.

"It's okay Rosie."

"Hugo and I love you. Miss Miri will never be our Mummy."

"Thanks," Hermione said with a halfhearted laugh, though at the same time she was surprised that Rose knew what was going on. The little girl really was perceptive. "How did you know?"

"I was listening. I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

"Are we going to Uncle Harry's and Aunt Ginny's?"

"No, they're not home right now, and your father would come for us there."

"We could go to Australia," she suggested.

"That's too far away," Hermione said, giving another small chuckle, tears beginning to prickle her eyes at the hopelessness of the situation.

"We could go to Mr. Draco's. He likes us a lot. He'd let us stay. And we could play with Scorpius."

Hermione looked into her rearview mirror to see her daughter smiling widely at the idea. Hermione wasn't sure if it would be a good thing to do, though. She knew she and Draco were friends, but she wasn't sure how good of friends they were, despite what Madeline thought. Could she just show up at his doorstep in the middle of the night and ask to stay, especially after avoiding him all day?

_Well you don't have anywhere else to go right now._

"Do you know where he lives?" Hermione found herself saying.

"He lives next to the Queen," Rose told her.

_Alright, so he lives in Windsor. That still doesn't help us much, though._

"I remember how to get there. I memorized it from when we went to Scorpius' birthday party last week."

"Of course you did," Hermione chuckled. She started the car and drove back onto the road. "Lead the way then Rosie."

Hermione's stomach became a bundle of nerves when they reached Windsor, and Rose began to direct her to Draco's house. It was full on tumbling like a washer by the time she pulled into his driveway.

His house was nice. Not a mansion like Ron's, but a normal size, much like the one they lived in together in their other life.

The lights were on, so she knew he was home. She turned off the car, and slowly undid her seat belt, her eyes not leaving their gaze on the front door.

"You watch your brother for a moment, alright?" she said to Rose, who nodded in response.

She tried to think of what exactly she was going to say to him, but nothing she came up with sounded good. When she reached the door, she knew she had no choice but to just wing it and hope for the best. Without further hesitation, she knocked.

It felt like an eternity before she heard the dead bolt click, but it did, and then the door was opening in front of her. Her eyes met Draco's the moment they were visible to her.

"Granger?" he said, surprised that she was there.

"Hi," she breathed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Suddenly it was as if someone had laid a cloth over her mind, keeping her from forming any words to say. Not that it mattered, for it also felt as if she had swallowed a large stone, and that it was now lodged in her throat, making her incapable of speaking.

"Draco," someone said from behind him. A woman's voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," she continued with a giggle. "But I tried turning on that television thing and all I got was this snowy looking thing that was making a really annoying sound."

Hermione finally saw what she looked like as she came up beside Draco. She was olive skinned with long dark hair and eyes. She was pretty. Hermione vaguely remembered seeing her around the ministry.

"Oh, you have company," Hermione said timidly, and embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'll just go." She turned on her heel and quickly headed back to her car.

"Wait, Granger," he said, coming after her, and leaving the woman standing by the door. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I shouldn't have bothered you."

She averted her face from him as she opened her car door, not wanting him to see the tears that were forming in her eyes, threatening to escape.

"Granger, stop." He gently grabbed her by the arm and turned her around to face him. "Tell me what's going on. Why did you come?"

"I just…I need a place to stay for the night, me and the kids." Her voice was cracking, and it was beginning to move up in pitch. "But I can find somewhere else."

"Hey, if you need a place to stay, then you can stay here." He brought his thumbs to her lower lids, just as he had done the last time, and wiped her tears away. "You can stay for as long as you want."

"Thank you." Hermione managed to say, though it came out as more of a whisper.

Draco moved to the back door and opened it to let Rose out, while Hermione went to the opposite side to get Hugo.

"Hello Mr. Draco," Rose smiled sleepily. Although she had stayed awake to show her mother the way, it was late, and her tiredness was catching up with her.

"Hey, Rose. You're going to stay here tonight."

"I know. I told Mummy we should. I think it's the best place for us right now."

Draco looked at her strangely, but didn't try to question her further about her meaning. He just instructed her to go into the house and to the living room. She did as she was told, meeting the woman he had been talking to at the doorway. The woman took her hand and brought her inside.

"Did you bring anything with you?" He asked Hermione as she came back around, a sleeping Hugo in her arms.

"In the trunk."

"Alright, I'll get them for you. You can bring Hugo up to the first room on the left, and I'll meet you up there."

Hermione nodded and made her way into the house. She guessed that the room she went to was a guest room based on its set up, even though it was quite large. There was a single king sized bed, and a chest of drawers, but nothing indicating it was someone's personal bedroom.

She pulled back the covers of the bed, and then laid Hugo in, tucking the comforter around him, and kissing him on the forehead.

Draco came in a moment later with her suitcase and Rose's duffle bag. He didn't ask her any questions, but when she looked at him she could see many of them brewing in his eyes. She quietly followed him back down the stairs and into the living room, where Rose was sitting on a loveseat and talking with Draco's friend.

"You're daughter is charming," the woman said to her with a grin. "I'm Krista by the way." She stood up and shook Hermione's hand. "And you're Hermione Granger, well Hermione Weasley."

Hermione flinched when Krista said her married surname.

"I suppose I better go then." Krista stood up from her place on the couch.

"I'll show you to the door," Draco said, heading towards the door along with her.

"I told you he would let us stay," Rose smiled once she and Hermione were alone.

"Yes you did," Hermione said, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you."

"I love you Mummy."

"I love you too."

"We're going to be okay."

_I hope so, _Hermione thought as she held her daughter close to her.

Draco came back into the room and the three of them just stared at each other for a second before he spoke. "Are you hungry or anything Rose?"

"No, thank you. I'm just tired. It's been a loooong day."

"I'm sure it has," Draco laughed softly.

"I'm going to take her to bed, and then I'll come back down," Hermione told him, taking Rose by the hand.

"I can go myself Mummy," Rose said confidently. "I know where it is."

Before Hermione could say anything, Rose had hopped off the couch she was sitting on and was strolling her way out of the room.

"Goodnight," both Hermione and Draco called after her.

"So what's going on?" Draco asked, cutting to the chase the moment Rose was out of ear shot, and taking a seat on the other side of the couch. "You practically run away from me yesterday, stay clear of me today, and now you're at my house."

Hermione focused her attention on the carpet, wanting to look anywhere, but at him. "Ron decided he would rather be with his publicist than with me," she said.

Draco didn't make any response, at least none that Hermione could hear, and since she wasn't facing him she wasn't able to see any expression he might've given. When he continued to be silent, she decided to keep talking instead.

"Madeline told me yesterday, and I didn't believe her at first, but then she showed me the memory of her seeing them together using the pensieve you let us borrow. After that I knew I couldn't deny it. It still took a bit of time for me to wrap my head around it, and I kept wondering what I had done wrong or what I could've done better. I thought maybe we could work it out, but then I realized that I couldn't stay with someone who had betrayed me like that. He obviously wasn't in love with me anymore, and I realized that I wasn't as in love with him as I thought I was, so what was the point of staying together? I asked him to leave, but he refused, so I told him I was going to go, and it got a little ugly after that. He tried to… I had to stupefy him, in order for us to leave. I couldn't think of anywhere to go, and then Rose suggested we come here, so I thought, what the hell? The worst thing that could happen is he could say no, and if he does it can't hurt more than your husband cheating on you. Except-"

"Granger, you're rambling," Draco finally said, effectively stopping her.

"Sorry," she blushed in embarrassment. Neither of them said anything again for a moment, and then she felt Draco moving closer to her. He lifted her chin with one of his hands and turned it so that she was now looking at him.

"You always deserved better than him," he whispered. "I'll make sure he never harms you again if you like."

"Thank you."

Their faces were close, and Hermione could feel her stomach doing somersaults again. All she had to do was lean forward and their lips would touch. She knew that it wouldn't be appropriate given the circumstances though. He must've realized this too, for he moved back a little.

"I'm sorry we interrupted your date," Hermione said, wanting to change the subject. "She seems nice."

"She is. And don't worry about it Granger, she was just someone my mother decided to set me up with and I figured I'd go along with it to make her happy."

"I see." Hermione tried not to show how relieved she was by his response. "Where's Scorpius?"

"I brought him to my mother's for the night, but he'll be back tomorrow. He'll be excited to know that his friends are here."

"That was one of the reasons Rose gave for us to come here. Thank you for letting us stay the night. I'm not sure where we'll go tomorrow, but I'll think of some place-"

"Granger, you don't have to go. Stay for as long as you need," he said, and then not caring anymore about propriety, he took her hand in his. "Stay for forever if you have to."

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as he put himself out there. She knew it wasn't the right time to show him how she really felt, but it was a beginning. She allowed him to pull her closer, and set her head on his shoulder while his arms went around her.

It seemed that when it came to the life of Hermione, all paths inevitably led to Draco.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **And... she left him! And went to Draco because he's freaking sexy. Hope you enjoyed reading it :) We're almost to the end!


	11. Chapter 11

When Hermione woke up the next morning, she thanked her stars she was no longer in the Ron world, not that she planned on seeing him for a while if she did return there.

On that same note, luckily she was in the bed of the Draco she was married to, and not the one whose house she'd decided to bunk at. Waking up in his bed would have been _very_ awkward.

She tried to keep her head from pounding, and her numerous thoughts from doing the same. Among them were the phrases, _What were you thinking going to Draco's house two seconds after leaving your husband? _and, _Ron will never be amicable with you again._ As upset as she was with him, she didn't want to keep her children away from their father, and it wouldn't be good if every time they had to see each other they were fighting.

"Granger, what is going on in that head of yours?" She heard Draco ask from beside her. "You've been staring at the ceiling for the past five minutes."

"I was just wondering what I would do if my world came crashing down on me," she admitted.

"Is this about your coworker?" He questioned, and assuming he was right, he rolled over onto his side with his arms supporting his head and continued along. "Well, if I were to ever cheat on you- which I never will because I'm not stupid- you would probably hex me to hell and back, and then you'd torture me in some horrible way you could only think of. You'd probably kick me out of the house, and I'd go without a fight. You'd keep the kids of course, but you'd probably let me visit them because you're not heartless. And eventually I'd come crawling back on all fours, and you'd take me back because I'm irresistible."

He said his last sentence with a smirk, and Hermione took advantage of his position by removing his pillow from underneath him and smacking him across the head with it.

"Don't be so sure," she laughed. "You had at least seventy-five percent of that correct."

"I had all of it correct," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pressing her against him. He began to kiss her in various places from her chest and above, when they were interrupted by their door barging open. They quickly let go of each other, fixing themselves into a less compromising position.

"SARDINES!" Scorpius yelled. "Ari's hiding!" He was out of the room just as fast as he came in.

Draco chuckled as he kissed Hermione once more on the lips, and then slid out of the bed. "It's a good thing our house isn't too big or we'd never have time for this game on a school morning."

_Sardines? _ Hermione wondered. She hadn't played that in _years_, but it made sense that her kids would know it. Hopefully her way of playing it was the same as how they were going to play at that moment.

"We'll give her ten more seconds," Draco said as he stretched himself. "Three-two-one!"

He shot out of the room just as Scorpius had, and Hermione just watched in amusement.

She was going to participate in the game, just at a slower pace than the boys were. At her thought of _boys_, she realized that she needed to get Pollux, seeing as Draco was occupied with something more exciting.

She went to Pollux's room, and smiled when she saw him already standing up in his crib, his hands on the railing, and his legs bouncing up and down.

"I think someone wants to be let out," she said as she lifted him into her arms, and placed a kiss on his cheek.

As she turned back towards the door, something caught her eye. One of the closet sliding doors was slightly open, which was odd because she had a thing about having closet doors either all the way open or all the way closed. Curious, she went over to it and slid it open.

Huddled against a back corner with a wide smile at being found, was Ariel. The little girl gave Hermione the shushing signal and then motioned for Hermione to come in.

Stifling a giggle, Hermione stepped in and then closed the door again behind her, leaving just a sliver open so she and Ariel could keep watch. Pollux seemed to know something was going on, for he stayed silent and rested his head against Hermione's shoulder.

A couple minutes later and Scorpius entered the room. He got down on his knees to look under Pollux's crib, and sighed when he found no one there. Then a mischievous smile crept onto his lips as he looked towards the closet. He quickly slid it open and then shout whispered, "Gotcha!"

"Be quiet Scorpy or Daddy will hear you!" Ariel quietly shrieked.

"Too late!" Draco grinned, jumping in from the hallway. He frowned when he realized he was the last one. "Dang it."

"Mummy won!" Ariel proclaimed as they all got out of the closet.

"Did she?"

"You should've gotten Pollux first," Hermione winked.

They all migrated downstairs to the kitchen where Hermione and Draco prepared their wired kids a small breakfast of toast and half a banana, while Ariel regaled them with how she had decided on her hiding spot.

"I didn't think you guys would ever find me there!" She said as her parents took their seats at the table, and everybody let out a laugh.

"Oh, Granger," Draco started. "Ron told me-"

Hermione's slice of toast fell out of her hand at the mention of Ron's name, and her body gave a slight jerk.

"I just got a sudden chill," she excused herself, picking up the bread in her hand again. "You were saying?"

Draco eyed her strangely, but continued on. "He told me he has a surprise for us and will be stopping by sometime today."

"He'll be coming here?"

"That's what he said," Draco answered. "Is everything alright?"

_No. Yes. Maybe… _

_You'll be fine with him here Hermione, _she told herself firmly._ This is a different life and a different Ron. You'll be fine._

"Yeah, just, you know, want to be sure not to go anywhere so he won't miss us," she lied.

"I can tell him to call you before he heads over."

"No, it's fine. I'm sure we'll be home whenever he decides to come."

"Alright then. Well I better go now. Have to go save those lives!"

Draco hugged and kissed all his children before saying goodbye to Hermione, letting her know he'd be back in time for dinner later that night.

* * *

><p>Hermione sat patiently on her living room couch, waiting for Ginny to apparate in. She <em>needed <em>to talk to someone about Ron, no matter what she had told herself that morning about not worrying about it, so she had called her only confidant as soon as she had returned from bringing Scorpius to school. Besides, venting didn't _really _count as worrying.

"I'm here," Ginny sang as she walked into the living room. Hermione assumed Lily had gone straight to Ariel's room, where the sole Malfoy girl was already at play along with Pollux.

"So, I'm guessing you have important things to tell me about your other life."

"Yes," Hermione started slowly, not wanting to say it all in one breath as she had a habit of doing. "I left Ron, like I said I would."

"By left I'm hoping you mean that _he _left."

"Unfortunately no. He refused to let me go, and…he actually tried to force himself on me."

"He didn't!"

Hermione nodded in answer. "I stupefied him before he could do anything, thank goodness. He stayed down long enough for me to get the kids and drive out of there."

"Where did you go?"

"_Draco's house_," Hermione said sheepishly, phrasing it so it was almost a question.

"Oh my gosh you didn't!" Ginny exclaimed, her mouth forming into a giant smile.

"It was Rose's idea!"

"That is just too perfect. But let's rewind to when you told Ron you knew he was a lying, cheating, ass. I want it to be as if I was right there with you."

Hermione told Ginny what had happened with as much detail as possible. She probably could've made a short film with the way she described the situation.

"I like your daughter," Ginny said. "It seems she got all of your genes, and if she got any of Ron's, quickly disposed of them. If you ask me, I think she saw something that the other you had been ignoring, and of course once you got there that all changed. Seriously, you and Draco are just drawn to each other, no matter what reality you're in."

"I was actually thinking the same thing," Hermione blushed.

"You know what I always wanted to know? What he did with his ten minutes back in Flitwick's class."

"I was wondering the same thing. I don't think it was good, though. I looked at him when he was done, and he just looked sad, like something bad had happened."

"You should ask him. Use being his wife to your advantage while you can," Ginny winked. "Well, I know that all this bad stuff happened in the other life, but you need a day out of celebration. So for the next few hours we are going to pamper you with everything a free woman deserves."

Ginny made good on her word. They went into muggle London and got manicures and pedicures for them and the girls, and then they went out for lunch and desert. They then went to a clothing store where they each bought a couple outfits for themselves and their kids.

By the time Hermione returned home she was exhausted, but she only had a couple of hours to regroup before going to pick up Scorpius from school. Luckily both Ariel and Pollux had drifted off for afternoon naps, which would make it ten times easier for her to just sit back and relax.

She made her way to her room and noticed that something was on Draco's side of the bed. As she went to inspect it she realized that it was a pensieve; the same pensieve she had used in the other life.

_It must be a Malfoy family artifact, _Hermione concluded, since it obviously belonged to Draco.

Next to the pensieve were three vials, and a note with what she could tell was Draco's handwriting.

_I came home for a short break but you were still out, _it said._ I was looking at these after you went to sleep last night, and I thought you'd enjoy looking at them again too. _

_Yours Always,_

_Draco_

Instantly curious as to what memories the vials held, Hermione picked one up, uncorked it, and let the contents flow into the pensieve. She thought back to when she had last used the pensieve and grimaced. Hopefully whatever these memories had to show was much better than one unveiling a cheating husband.

She let the memory swirl around for a couple seconds before dipping her head in, a little nervous for what she was about to see.

She appeared inside the dining room of a flat, her and Draco's memory selves sitting at a table. By the lack of food on their obviously dirty plates, they had just finished eating.

"So, not that I don't love having you to myself for the night," Draco said with a grin. "But is there a reason you sent Scorpius to my mother's house?"

"Maybe…" Memory Hermione smirked, and then she hopped out of her seat to grab something she had hidden behind their couch. It was a green gift bag with white tissue paper sticking out of it.

"Ah, a gift. I love gifts. What's the occasion?"

"Just open it," Memory Hermione said, placing it in front of him.

Draco removed the tissue paper and then reached in, pulling out a navy blue onesie clearly supporting Puddlemere United. On the back it had the name Malfoy and the number three on it.

"I don't think this is going to fit me Granger, or Scorpius," Draco said with a shaky laugh as he kept turning it back and forth. He then looked at Memory Hermione with a wide smile on his face. "It's not for any of us, is it?"

Memory Hermione shook her head and then let out a giggle before being promptly swept into Draco's arms.

"I want a girl this time Granger," he said as he began to kiss her.

"That's entirely up to you," she responded, returning his affection.

The memory faded as they began to move towards another part of the flat, and Hermione was brought back to her bedroom.

_That must've been when I was pregnant with Ariel, _she thought with a smile.

Without wasting any time she put the memory back inside its vial and proceeded onto the next one.

She appeared in the same flat, only this time she was in the kitchen. Her memory self was preparing dinner, and Draco and Scorpius were yet to be seen.

Three minutes passed with nothing but her memory self cooking, although there was a container of blueberries that she kept glancing at for prolonged periods of time, as if she was contemplating something about them.

The sound of a key entering a keyhole and being turned caught Hermione's ears, and a moment later the door to the flat opened, revealing the husband she had been waiting for.

"Hey, Granger," he greeted her memory self, kissing her on the cheek once she reached her. The other Hermione turned her head so that she was facing him fully and allowed him to really kiss her.

"Need help with anything?" He asked when they broke apart.

"Could you rinse those blueberries for me?" She asked.

"Of course."

"You know, I found out something interesting today."

"Yeah? I thought you already knew everything interesting," he joked as he picked up the container of blueberries and began to run them under the faucet.

"Fine, I won't tell you then."

"No, I'm sorry," he laughed. "Tell me, please. What is this new interesting fact you have to tell me."

"One of those blueberries you're holding is about the same size as our baby."

There was a clatter as Draco dropped the container he was holding.

Memory Hermione watched in amusement as different emotions flitted across his face: surprise, confusion, excitement.

"Our…ah…did you say?...Are you?"

"Yes!" She squealed.

"Seriously?"

"Yes!"

Draco quickly pulled her to him and hugged her tightly.

"I can't believe it. We're having a baby," he whispered.

"Yes, we are."

The memory ended, and when Hermione got back she waited a minute to start on the next one. She knew that last memory had been her pregnancy with Scorpius, and the very first time she had to tell Draco she was carrying their child. She could only imagine how nerve wracking it had been, letting him know he was going to be a father for the first time and that their lives were about to change.

Hermione removed the memory and returned it to its vial, and then poured in the last vial of memory, which she had a feeling was going to be her announcement about Pollux.

Taking a breath, she bowed her head in. She was promptly dropped into the same room she was in, although it was dark now. Draco was sitting on the bed while her memory self was standing to the side of him holding two small boxes in her hands.

"I got these puzzles from George today, he said he wanted us to try them out," Hermione said. "They're called Pensieve Puzzles. You use it like a pensieve, but in puzzle form."

"So I think of an image and transfer it onto the puzzle?" Draco asked.

"You transfer it onto the box of the puzzle and it will transfer it accordingly onto all the pieces inside."

"Interesting."

"Want to see who can put theirs together the fastest? Both of these are only a hundred pieces."

"You're on, Granger," Draco grinned, rubbing his hands together at the challenge.

Memory Hermione handed him his box and then took a seat next to him, transfiguring the space in front of them into a hard surface for them to work on.

"Hey," Draco frowned, looking at his box. "This one already has a picture of a lion on it."

"You're box is actually just a regular one. I already turned yours into a particular picture earlier, and put the pieces in this box so you wouldn't know what it is."

"So I don't get something to look at and you do? Some would consider that cheating."

"You don't think you could still beat me?"

"Of course I can still beat you, Granger," Draco scoffed rifling through his pieces. "We'll begin on the count of three then. One-two-three!"

Draco began to search through his box hastily, trying to find what Hermione could only assume were the edge pieces. That was after all the logical way to start a puzzle.

Memory Hermione was doing the same, but at a surprisingly leisurely pace. She kept looking over at Draco's progress and smiling.

Hermione looked at their puzzles. She knew hers was supposed to be a picture of a running horse, because that was what was shown on her box. With Draco's it wasn't yet at a distinguishable point, but so far it looked like the only colors it contained were shades of black, white, and grey.

"What the hell is this supposed to be?" Draco wondered out loud, and Memory Hermione just chuckled.

"You'll see," she said.

It took Draco fixing a few more pieces together before Hermione figured it out, and as much as she wanted Draco to hurry and finish his puzzle before, she was now very impatient for him to be done with it.

"Granger…" he said softly as he came close to finishing it, obviously recognizing it for what it was. His speed quickened as the pieces in his box rapidly dwindled down, and finally there was only one left. He picked it up and fit it carefully in its spot, and then he stared at it.

It was a sonogram, and in the midst of the waves of white there was an area of black with a white blob the size and shape of a peanut growing into it. Draco circled it with his index finger.

"Is that…?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah," Memory Hermione said, leaning over to rest on his shoulder and look at the picture herself. "That's our baby."

He gently nudged her off of him and then guided her face to his with his fingers so he could kiss her.

"Another one?" He said, resting his forehead against hers.

"Another one," she smiled, giving a small laugh along with it that was promptly cut off by his lips covering hers again.

The memory faded as the two began to lie back on the bed, and Hermione found herself brought back in the bedroom at present time.

She wiped under her eyes, tears having collected there after witnessing the quiet emotion that had been displayed in the last memory.

_His third child and he's still in awe about the whole thing, _she mused. She had always figured that after the first pregnancy the rest were somewhat of a non-event for husbands, but Draco had proved her wrong. He was surprised and overjoyed every single time.

She gave a laugh as she realized that when she had told him she was pregnant this time all she had done was announce it out loud. It was pretty anti-climatic after how she had done it the first three times, though Draco didn't seem to mind.

_Oh well, I'll think of something for when it really happens, _she thought, and then she blushed at her insinuation. She chastised herself for already making plans. Even though she knew Draco was the one she wanted to be with, who knew if everything if everything would happen exactly as it did the past week. She didn't want to set herself up for disappointment.

She put the memory back in its vial, and then moved all three vials to the nightstand. She thought about moving the pensieve, but decided not to because she was tired and feeling lazy. She instead went over to her side of the bed and moved back the covers, ready to take a short nap.

* * *

><p><em>Knock knock knock.<em>

Hermione's eyes snapped open at the noise, and she groggily got out of her bed. She wondered who it could've been, considering that she wasn't expecting anybody.

_Maybe it's one of the neighbours, _she thought.

She opened the door, and then caught her breath. The person's back was turned to her, but there was no mistaking the red head of hair.

_Ron. _She had forgotten that he had planned on coming over.

"Hey, 'Mione," he greeted her with a smile. He had turned around at the sound of the door opening so that he was now facing her. He let himself into the house like it was the natural thing to do, Hermione having left enough space for him to walk through. It took her a couple of moments to remember that this wasn't the Ron she had left in the middle of the night.

"Where are the kids?" He asked as he made his way to the kitchen, Hermione following behind him.

"Scorpius is still at school and the other two are upstairs taking naps."

"Dang it, I forgot about the school thing. I was hoping they would be all up so I could give them a surprise. I suppose you'll just have to do it, 'cause I can't stay very long."

He pulled out an envelope from his pocket and then took out four pieces of paper from it.

"I got tickets to the World Cup!" He exclaimed, fanning them out for her to see. "Three for the kiddos and one for that husband of yours. I also got some for Harry and his lot. Sorry, it's just going to be a Daddy, Uncle Ron, and Us day, so no mums allowed."

"Oh no, my life is ruined," Hermione said, faking dejection.

"See, I knew you'd be okay with it. Ginny was a little upset, but she's already planning a day out for you and her, so I think she's over it."

"Thanks, Ron. You're the best uncle ever."

"I know, right?" He grinned. "How are you by the way? I haven't seen you since game night." He became slightly awkward as he said this, knowing he was broaching what could possibly be an uncomfortable topic.

"I'm fine Ron, everything's fine."

"So you and Draco aren't fighting or anything?" He asked, and she briefly wondered if he was hoping for them to be.

"No," she answered more firmly than she probably had to.

She was surprised when he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh good," he said. "I don't fancy being in the middle of one of those again. The last time was more than enough for my life."

"The last time?" Hermione said before she could stop herself.

"Yeah, when you and Draco were fighting because you had stayed at Krum's house while you were visiting Bulgaria," he said, and his eyebrows scrunched a little at her clear lack of memory of the event. "You didn't speak for nearly a week?"

"Oh, yes that one," she said, and she even threw up her arm for that 'I just remembered, how could I have forgotten' effect. Ron did the same, buying it without question.

"It was terrible that one. Especially since I took his side. But let's leave the past in the past, eh?" He added when Hermione shot a glare at him. They were quiet for a moment before he spoke again. "You're a stay-at-home mom and yet still find time to study."

"Hmm?" Hermione said, confused. Ron then picked up the charms book Ginny had lent her and that she had forgotten on the kitchen counter. "Oh. Of course. Just reading up on the Disparem charm."

"Disparem? I remember that, nearly got into trouble for accidentally using it on you that one time. If I recall correctly you broke up with me not long after that incident," he chuckled.

"Sorry," Hermione said, even though she wasn't. It just seemed like the appropriate thing to say.

"Don't be. It was probably one of the best decisions of your life. I wasn't good for you 'Mione, and you deserved so much better. Luckily Draco was there to pick up my slack."

Hermione smiled at the compliment. "I still find it amazing that you two don't hate each other anymore."

"It took a little bit of time, but we both came to our senses for your sake. Anyway, I better go. Danielle is waiting for me."

"Danielle? What happened to Juliet?"

"She just wanted me for my money," Ron said as he walked back towards the door, and she followed behind him. "Have Draco call me later so we can discuss our game plans."

"Alright."

"See you later 'Mione." He left her with a quick hug before leaving the house.

_Well that went way better than you thought it would. Way to keep it together Hermione._

Hermione looked at the clock and realized she had ten minutes before Scorpius would be out of school. She hurried upstairs to wake up both Ariel and Pollux and get their shoes on, before apparating to the campus.

Despite getting what she thought was a late start, she was a couple minutes early, so she waited against one of the pillars in front of Scorpius' class, while Ariel took Pollux to the playground nearby.

"If I knew there'd be attractive mothers here, I'd have come picked up my son every day," someone said from beside her, and her head turned toward the speaker in both surprise and recognition. "Hello," Draco smirked, clearly enjoying the way her mouth was slightly open.

"What are you doing here?"

"I got off work early so I decided to meet you here and pick up Scor."

As if on cue, the door to the classroom burst open and Scorpius bounded out.

"Dad!" he shouted, noticing Draco first. He jumped into his dad's arms and hugged him, then moved on to Hermione once Draco put him back down.

"How was school today buddy?" Draco asked, taking Scorpius' backpack from him.

"It was awesome!" Scorpius said, and he began to tell Draco everything he did that day starting from when he first got to the school.

They walked over to the playground where Ariel was playing with Pollux, and like their older brother before them, they immediately stopped what they were doing to greet their dad.

"Why don't we go to the park?" Draco suggested as he gathered Pollux into his arms.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Both Scorpius and Ariel squealed.

"I think they like that idea," Hermione laughed.

They apparated home first to get some toys and snacks together, before piling into their car and heading to the same park they had gone to on Sunday.

Hermione waited as Draco laid out a large blanket, and then joined him on it when he was done, sitting Pollux in front of them to play with some toys. Scorpius and Ariel had ventured to the playground and joined another group of kids in a game of tag.

"Thank you for setting up the pensieve for me," Hermione said. "It was nice looking at those memories."

"I thought you'd appreciate it. We'll have to add this last time to the group. Only seven more months and there'll be another child sitting in front of us, and Pollux will be the one out on the playground with the others," Draco mused.

Hermione just let out a chuckle as she ruffled Pollux's hair. "Do you want another boy or a girl?"

"Girl of course. You?"

"I'll take either," she smiled. "But I've found I'm more partial to boys."

"We are an amazing species," Draco winked.

Hermione just rolled her eyes at him before speaking again. "Can I ask you something?"

"You can ask me anything, you know that. Besides, nothing could be worse than your _last _question."

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine, really, as long as you know that I would _never _do something like that to you."

"I know," Hermione said, putting her hand in his.

"What do you want to know?"

"Remember back in our eighth year, when Flitwick taught us the Disparem charm?"

"Yes…" Draco responded, not sure where she was going with it.

"What did you do for your ten minutes?"

Draco laughed. "I can't believe you're asking me this ten years later. May I ask why?"

"Ginny and I were reminiscing, and it got me wondering." Hermione fibbed.

"I see. Well, for the first run through I-" he began and then he stopped, smiling sheepishly.

"What?"

"This is kind of embarrassing for me Granger. I've never told anyone this before."

"But we had to write about it to Flitwick!"

"I lied," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing. "It's not that hard to make up a story about what you did for ten minutes of time, especially when you can be completely reckless."

"Well what was so embarrassing about it?"

"I kissed you."

"You _kissed _me?"

"Yep. Right on the mouth."

"And that was embarrassing why?"

"Because if you recall we were in a classroom full of students, including your boyfriend at the time."

"Oh."

"Thank goodness I was the only one who would remember experiencing it. But for that first five minutes they got to witness me kiss you, get shot down by you, and then get punched in the jaw by Weasley."

"I'm sorry," Hermione apologized.

"Don't worry, it didn't hurt. Weasley has a weak punch- still does actually."

"What did I say?"

"After I kissed you? I asked you if you would ever choose me over Ron, and you said no because of our friends, expectations- you know, the usual."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said again.

"You broke my heart in those five minutes, as cheesy as that sounds," Draco admitted freely. "I was so upset I spent my next five minutes trashing the nearest empty classroom."

"Of course you would," Hermione scoffed playfully. "Well, obviously I changed my mind about you."

"Yeah, the very next day." He brought his face to hers and kissed her tenderly.

"Was I able to fix your heart?" she whispered against his mouth.

"Made it whole again and then some," he smiled, before kissing her again.

Draco's face was suddenly pushed away from hers, and Hermione opened her eyes to find Pollux standing next to them with his hand pressing on Draco's cheek.

"My Mummy!" He frowned.

Both Draco and Hermione chuckled. "Looks like someone's Oedipus complex is kicking in early," Draco commented as Pollux tugged on Hermione's hand and then walked her to the playground. She followed him wherever he led her on the structure, making sure he didn't bump into anything or fall off.

He had just guided her across a hanging bridge that ended at another platform of the playground, when a boy that looked to be about Scorpius' age hurriedly pushed past Hermione, knocking into her. She didn't even have time to think before she fell backwards and out one of the side openings of the playground, barely missing the attached fireman pole.

She landed flat on her back, and even though it had been a short fall, it hurt. It hurt _a lot._

She was able to hear Draco yell her name, before she closed her eyes and lost consciousness of everything around her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **And there you go! I hope you enjoyed it, especially the memory portion because it was my favorite part to write. This was the penultimate chapter, so be ready for the end :(


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Hello and welcome to the final chapter of Disparem :)

Hermione woke with a start, sitting up straight. She was disoriented, and she put her hand up to her head to try and tame the dizziness, closing her eyes to the bright light. It felt like she hadn't opened them in _ages._

She opened them slowy, and she swore her heart skipped a beat when she realized where she was. She was finally back in the place she had been trying to get to for the past ten days.

_Hogwarts sweet Hogwarts. _

She was in the Hospital Wing, its only occupant. Judging from the light coming in through the window the sun was close to setting.

She thought back to how she ended up here, remembering being on the playground with Pollux before being knocked over. She frowned as it dawned on her that she would never see any of her children, again- or at least not for a while.

The door to the infirmary opened and Madame Pomfrey stepped in. She gave a gasp when she took notice of Hermione.

"You're up dear!" She said as she hurried over to her. She began to check her state of health, and once she was satisfied that there was nothing wrong with Hermione she went over to her fireplace and flooed Professor Flitwick.

He arrived momentarily, along with Headmistress McGonagall.

"Well, it seems like everything is alright with you," he said after he performed the same tests Madame Pomfrey had, much to the nurse's annoyance. "Can you tell me exactly what happened Miss Granger? Where you've been for the past few days?"

"Umm… exactly?" Hermione stammered. She was willing to give him a general idea, but she wasn't going to tell him _exactly _what happened. First of all, it would take a while, second of all, there were a lot of personal things she didn't feel like divulging to her _professor_.

"She doesn't need to tell you _everything_," the Headmistress put in, noticing Hermione's discomfort. "Just tell us what feel is necessary."

Hermione fidgeted as she sifted through all that happened, before she decided on giving them the short version of her week: she had experienced two separate realities ten years in the future, going back and forth from each one every day, and after taking a tumble from a playground was able to return to her actual time.

"_Really interesting,_" Professor Flitwick said in awe when she finished.

"How did it happen?" She asked.

"When Mr. Weasley struck you with the charm you still had some of the potion in you. That coupled with your fall had triggered a different effect than usual, as you experienced yourself. It seems that this last fall you had was able to wake you back up, much like your fall in during the quidditch match was able to put you under.

"This has never happened before, and I don't think we'll ever experiment with it, but still. To think that you were able to experience two paths of reality. Did you choose which one you're going to follow?" He added eagerly.

"I think that will be all Professor," McGonagall interrupted, noticing once again Hermione's uncomfortable stance.

"Yes, yes," Flitwick agreed, though he looked a little put out. "I recommend writing it all down Miss Granger. This is, after all, a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"I suppose I will."

"You are excused from your classes tomorrow Miss Granger, but I expect you to return on Monday. Have a nice weekend." McGonagall bid her.

"Thank you," Hermione said, as the small man and the Headmistress left the room.

A few minutes later Madame Pomfrey proclaimed her fit to be discharged from her care, and offered her a plate of food to eat before leaving the wing.

It felt surreal to Hermione to finally be walking through the halls she had been waiting to get back to for the past ten days, though technically it had only been five.

She was home now. All she had to worry about now was catching up with all of the classes she missed…and deciding what she was going to do about her personal life.

She knew she had to break up with Ron, she just wasn't looking forward to doing it.

And then there was Draco. Should she wait for him to come to her? Or should she just put herself out there?

She remembered how Future Draco had told her what he had done during his ten minute experience with the Disparem charm. His pride had obviously taken a hit in that nonexistent time, which meant _she _would probably have to go to him.

Hermione groaned at the prospect. She had never been that fearless type of girl who could do something like that. However, if the past week she had just spent being his wife was any indication, she really had nothing to worry about.

Her rampant thoughts were halted as she entered the Gryffindor common room.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled, and he was already out of the lounge chair he had been sitting on by the time Ron and Ginny were able to turn their heads and notice her themselves. They all went to her and gave her a hug, exclaiming over her recovery. Ron even placed a kiss on her lips, and though she returned it, she felt none of the heat or love she had felt before.

"So what happened?" Ginny asked. "Professor Flitwick told us you were in some prolonged state of the Disparem charm. Is it true?"

"Yes," Hermione responded, to which all six of their eyes widened with interest and curiosity. She proceeded to tell them what had happened to her, though she left out any names. She instead referred to Ron and Draco as Husband Number One and Two, respectively, and Ginny simply became Best Girlfriend. She didn't want to let them know what either of her futures could be like, especially Ron.

"You're really not going to tell us their real names?" Ron asked, a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Hermione looked away from him and at her shoes. "No. I just don't think it's something you guys need to know. I did get to see all of you, but you should be looking towards the future because you don't know what it holds, not go through life waiting for what you think is going to happen to come to pass."

"I understand," Harry nodded, to which Ginny promptly agreed. Ron just huffed, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well, I'm surprisingly exhausted," Hermione gave a small laugh, trying to break the tension. "So I'm going to head to bed if you don't mind."

"Me, too," Ginny said, and they both bid the boys goodnight before making their way to the girls' dormitories.

"Ginny," Hermione turned to her friend once they were in their own room. The other girls they shared with had yet to return from wherever they were, so she and Ginny were alone.

"Hmm?"

"The one I was sharing everything with in both worlds, that was you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Hermione smiled. "You were an amazing friend, and so I think I owe it to you to tell you everything."

"There's more?"

"Yes. I told you the important things that happened each day, but there were more personal things that occurred, and details that I didn't think wise to share with the boys," Hermione said. _Like all the sex, _she thought with a blush. "I'll tell you everything- details and all- tomorrow if you like, but for now I'm just going to let you know who everyone was."

Ginny's ears visibly perked up at this, and she took a seat next to Hermione's on her bed. "I promise, I won't tell a soul."

Hermione swallowed. "Ron. I was married to Ron and our kids were Rose and Hugo."

"So you were married to my brother and had two kids, which means that…" Ginny's eyes bulged as the puzzle pieces fit into place in her head. "_He was the one that cheated on you?_"

Hermione nodded at her friend, whose expression was still clearly affronted.

"If that wasn't in the future I'd be hexing him right now. In fact maybe I should just do it so he _doesn't _do it!"

Hermione wanted to laugh at how Ginny's reaction stayed the same throughout every plane of existence. This Ginny even calmed down at around the same time as the others.

"Alright, who was the other one?" she asked.

"Draco Malfoy."

"WHAT?!"

Hermione was sure Ginny was going to faint, but luckily she didn't.

"Yes, you heard me correctly, I was married to Malfoy. Our kids were named Scorpius, Ariel, and Pollux. We hadn't picked out a name for the fourth one yet."

"I don't even know what to say," the redhead said, with a shake of her head.

Hermione laughed. "Imagine how I felt that first morning when his arm was wrapped around me."

"Wow… you and Malfoy. Who would've thought? Then again, you two have become pretty friendly this last year. I think he visited you a few times while you were in the Hospital Wing."

"He did?"

"Well, I wasn't sure at the time. I thought maybe he just had some ailments or whatnot to see Madame Pomfrey for. But now that I know he's in love with you it just makes sense that he was there to see you."

"He kissed me you know." Hermione said, and she watched as Ginny's eyes became wide again. "The day of the Quidditch match."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to, but I was kind of hit by a spell and put asleep for a week."

Ginny gave her a look as if to say that wasn't an excuse. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Break up with Ron," Hermione sighed.

"And then run straight into Malfoy's arms?"

"I haven't decided on that yet."

"Well I can't say I'd blame you, after experiencing what you did. I'll support you with whatever you choose to do."

"Thanks Gin."

"Draco Malfoy…" Ginny giggled as she left for her bed.

Hermione snuggled herself under her own covers trying to get comfortable. She was grateful to be back, but at the same time she wished she was in a bigger bed with a platinum blonde man lying next to her.

* * *

><p>The next time Hermione opened her eyes the room was bathed in gray light; the tell-tale color of dusk. Confused, she groggily sat up. She felt rested, but oddly weak.<p>

The door to the room opened and Ginny came in with a tray of food in her hands. "Oh, thank goodness you're finally awake!" She said, placing the tray in front of her friend. "I was getting worried about you."

"What time is it?" Hermione yawned her stomach grumbling at the same time.

"It's already seven o'clock on Friday evening."

_What? _ Hermione thought in surprise. "I slept all day?"

"Yes, you did. I came back at lunch and again when my classes were over and you were still completely knocked out. I went to tell Professor Flitwick and he said that it was probably just your body recuperating from the affects of the charm. If you weren't awake by tonight we'd have a problem, but here you are, eyes open and everything. I brought you dinner since you haven't eaten anything since…well I don't know when."

"I had dinner after I woke up yesterday, so it's safe to say I haven't eaten in twenty-four hours."

"Well dig in, and while you're doing that I'll catch you up on everything you missed while you were gone."

"School wise or gossip wise?"

"Both," Ginny smiled.

By the time Ginny finished telling Hermione the school news and all the work she had to make up for her classes, Hermione's brain was about to explode.

"I have to go to the library," she said, hurriedly putting on some clothes and gathering her supplies into her book bag.

"Really? You're going to start tonight? It's nearly eight already!"

"If there's time to study, then I'm going to study. I have a week's worth of school to catch up on Ginny, I have to start now."

"You're crazy, but I guess you wouldn't be our Hermione if you weren't."

"Thanks, Gin," Hermione chuckled at the comment as she left.

She was making her way through the common room when Ron called for her.

"Hey! You're finally up again. Where are you going?"

"The library to study."

"Now? Why not just start tomorrow?"

"Because I have a lot to do and-"

"Come on 'Mione," Ron said, exasperated. "It's been a week since we've really spent time with each other. Just leave the school work till tomorrow."

"Ron, I…" Hermione sighed. She hadn't been planning on doing this in an unprepared manner, but it looked like she would have to. "Ron, I can't be with you anymore."

"What?"

"The dream, this past week, it made me realize many things, and one of them is that we're just not right for each other."

Ron was quiet, his jaw clenched tightly as he stared unblinkingly at her.

"You can't be serious," he managed to get out. Hermione could tell he was trying to keep calm, even though his temples were throbbing. She hoped he wouldn't resort to what the other Ron had tried to do when she wanted to leave, especially since they were in their common room which was currently filled with people.

"I am. I love you Ron, but it's not the kind of love that's right for a relationship, and I… I can't be with you anymore."

An awkward silence hung between them, and Hermione tried hard to keep her eyes on him and not relegate them to her shoes.

"Well then," he said gruffly. "I guess this is it." He turned away from her and began walking towards the boys' dormitories without even waiting for her to speak again.

"Ron…" she called after him, not wanting to end it on bad terms, but he was already gone.

It was easier than she had expected, but she had just hurt one of her best friends, and that didn't exactly make her feel great. She knew it was for the best though, keeping the future she wanted clear in her mind to remind her why she had done it. In her life with Draco she and Ron were still friends, so somehow she and Ron were going to get passed this, and everything was going to be okay. She let out a shuddery breath as she turned around and climbed out the portrait hole, slowly heading towards the library again.

The moment she entered the library she could feel everyone's eyes turn on her. Ginny had told her that the whole school had learned of her predicament so it was no surprise that they would notice when she was well again. Either that or the news of her and Ron's break up had traveled extremely fast. Hermione tried to ignore the stares and the whispers that accompanied her as she headed towards her usual spot.

She felt her heart stop in her chest as she turned into the aisle her table was situated at and saw Draco already sitting there, his head deep in a textbook. She had forgotten that this was the time they usually met up for their study session. Of course he would be there.

She slowly walked over, and as she began to take a seat, Draco looked up from his book.

"Granger," he said, looking at her in surprise.

"Hello," she smiled at him.

"I had heard you were well again, but I hadn't seen you around. I thought you'd be spending all day in the library and making up for lost time."

"Were you looking for me?" She boldly asked as she pulled her book and some parchment out of her satchel .

"No," Draco quickly said, though a faint blush was crawling up his cheeks. "I just happened to be studying here myself."

"I see. I actually ended up sleeping all day, that's why I wasn't here."

"Oh. Well, I'm glad to see you up and about again."

"Thanks," she said with a small smile, and they were silent for a couple of moments before she spoke again. "I broke up with Ron," she blurted out, the words leaving her before she had even made a conscious decision to say them.

Draco's head lifted and his eyes met hers at the sudden confession. "You what?"

"I broke up with Ron."

"Why?"

"I realized that I wasn't in love with him anymore…I'd fallen in love with someone else."

She kept her gaze on him, hoping that somehow he would get the hint that she was talking about him.

"I see," he said.

_I see? _Was that all he was going to say?

She had pretty much put herself out there as far as she would comfortably go, and all he could say was _I see?_

Awkwardness began to seep through Hermione's pores, and she was just about ready to jump out of her seat and make a run for it when he spoke again.

"You always deserved better than Weasley, Granger. I knew you would figure it out eventually." He smirked, and Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. With a flick of his wand, all of their things disappeared off of the table and into their respective satchels. He picked both of them up and flung them over his arm and then went over to Hermione's side of the table, taking her hand and lifting her out of her seat. "How about we skip the studying for tonight?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Let's take a walk somewhere, and you can tell me what where you've been for the past five days."

"Alright," Hermione said with a smile, trying to keep the fluttery feeling that had evolved in her stomach at bay, as she allowed Draco to link his fingers with hers and lead her out of the library, and towards the rest of her life.

* * *

><p><em>Wednesday October 12, 2008<em>

_10 years, 6 months, 3 weeks later_

Hermione tried to get her breathing under control as Draco lay her down gently on the bed. She whimpered as he extricated himself from their scissored position, and then rolled back on his side of the bed.

"As mind-blowingly fun as this is, Granger," he said taking a huff of breath. "You do realize that this isn't a proven theory, right?"

"Yes," Hermione answered. "But it doesn't hurt to try." She placed her hand on his chest and began to move it southward, but Draco quickly caught it and stopped her from going further.

"Granger, my little nympho," he laughed, kissing the hand he'd taken hostage. "I've lost count of how many times we've done it tonight, and as much as I'd love to continue, I'm _exhausted."_

"Sor-ry," Hermione whined, her hormones getting the best of her. "I just want the baby to come already! It's a week overdue and I'm tired of being fat, and ugly, and not being able to see my toes!"

"Alright, alright," Draco said when her voice began to crack, pulling her into his arms. "First of all, you're not fat, you're pregnant. Secondly, you are not and have never been ugly. And thirdly, well yes not being able to see your toes sucks, but they'll still be there when you do get to see them again, ok?"

"If you say so." Hermione grumbled, lifting her head to kiss him. She soon turned what he had probably thought would just be a peck of gratitude into another full on snogging session, holding his head firmly to hers.

"Granger, please," Draco chuckled once he was able to pry himself off of her. "Give me an hour and then we can practice your theory some more, alright? Though if you ask me, the baby's going to come whenever it damn well pleases, no matter how much sex we have."

"Fine," Hermione humphed as she snuggled into Draco's side once more. It only took a couple minutes for his breathing to become even, and his hold around her to weaken, telling her that he had fallen asleep. She unfortunately, was still awake and waiting for the hour to be up already.

She had nearly begun to drift off when she felt something wet trail down her legs. She moved Draco's arm off of her, and then sat up, feeling a wet puddle forming underneath her.

_Finally,_ she thought with a smile. The baby that she had been waiting for for over ten years was finally going to make its appearance.

"Draco," she said, nudging him. "Draco."

"I said an hour, Granger," he grumbled as he caught sight of his clock. "Not twenty minutes."

"I know, but my water broke."

She saw Draco's eyes shoot open, which was promptly followed by him shooting up into an upright position. He flipped their blanket off of both of them, and Hermione spread her legs apart to show him the telltale spot of amniotic fluid.

"Great… that's uh great," he said, and Hermione tried to not to laugh as he put his clothes on as fast as he could. He always got nervous whenever she went into labor, even though he was pretty much a pro at it.

"I told you it'd work," she smirked.

"Well you can add it to the book I know you have where you keep track of all the times you're right," he teased right back. "I'll bring the kids to Mother's, and you just stay here. We'll be back in less than five minutes."

"I'll be waiting," Hermione smiled, folding her hands in her lap. Ten seconds later and Scorpius and Ariel stormed into the room.

"It's baby time Mummy?" Ariel asked.

"That's what dad said Ari," Scorpius said with a sleepy roll of his eyes. "Goodbye Mummy, I'll see you when the baby's born." He reached up his arms to give her a hug and Hermione held him back tightly.

"Bye Mummy," Ariel said, hugging her and giving her a kiss.

"I love you," Hermione said to both of them, and they replied in kind.

Draco, who had been standing behind them with Pollux in his arms, went over to the bed and lowered his youngest so that Hermione could give the boy a hug and kiss too.

"Like, I said, I'll be back in less than five minutes," Draco said once again, and then he left.

He returned four minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, just a little under the time he had promised, and didn't fail to smugly mention that fact to Hermione upon his arrival.

"Ready for this?" He asked, placing his hand over her swollen belly and rubbing it gently.

"More than you know," Hermione answered.

"Okay, let's get you to Mungo's Mrs. Malfoy."

* * *

><p>"Just one more push Hermione," Healer Montgomery bid her. "This should be the last one."<p>

"You can do it Granger," Draco said, trying not to yell at the vice grip she had on his arm.

Hermione clenched her teeth together, closed her eyes and pushed, and she didn't stop until she heard the first screaming cry of her baby. She fell back onto the bed with a thump and took a deep breath.

"Oh dear… it has twelve toes!" Draco said, and Hermione flicked her eyes open.

"_What?!" _ She screeched, trying to see around the arms of the healer that was currently cleaning her newborn.

"Just kidding, Love. But that tail it has will come in handy."

"_Draco!"_

"Calm down, Granger, it's perfect," he laughed as the baby was placed in his arms. "She's perfect."

"She?" Hermione asked, forgetting his lame jokes.

"Yeah," Draco grinned as he stared at the small bundle. "She."

He set her in Hermione's arms, and then took a seat next to them on what little space the bed offered.

"You did it again, Granger. Brought something amazing into the world."

"You helped."

"Only a little. You deserve all the glory."

"Thank you," Hermione said as she looked at her newest child. Thankfully she had only had ten fingers and ten toes, and there was not a tail in sight. Her eyes were barely open, but Hermione could tell from the little glimpse she was giving her that they were grey. She had a small bit of hair fuzz on her head that matched the color of her father's, but it could potentially darken as she got older. Hermione ran a hand through it and sighed.

"So what was the girl name we had come up with?" Draco asked.

"Celia. Celia Audrey."

"Celia Audrey. Another princess to rule the kingdom of Malfoy."

"We'll see how Ariel copes with sharing the spotlight."

"Have fun teaching her to share anything period," Draco chuckled, and he too gently brushed a hand over the little girl's head. "Did you ever think ten years ago that we'd be here? You and I together, and married with four crazy kids?"

"Hey, the crazy on this one is still yet to be determined," Hermione smiled. "But to answer your question…"

Hermione thought back to ten years before, the year she had fallen in love with the man sitting beside her. Then she thought of the Disparem charm, the one thing that had most definitely aided in setting her on this particular life path.

Everything that had happened in the time she was under the charm had stayed clearly in her mind, and there were times she would find herself anticipating some event that she had learned about, like the births of her children. She had tried not to dictate her life according to what she had known to be in the future, but she soon realized that every unconscious decision she made had led to what she had seen happen anyway. In other words, this future had been inevitable.

"Yes," she answered truthfully. "I did think it. I didn't know if it would happen or not, but I did think it."

"Me too," Draco laughed. "Thanks for choosing me Granger."

"Hmm?" Hermione said with confusion, not sure what he was on about, and she turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Granger," he started. "You know how smart I am. Ten years ago, you woke up from that Disparem charm and you told me about your two lives, and even though you changed everybody's name and tried not to be specific I figured out who everyone was before you had finished even telling me the story. Plus, you had already chosen to be with me, which made it that much easier. After all, why would you waste your time with me, if there was going to be some amazing guy in your future?"

Hermione was gob smacked. All this time, and he had known _everything_? "Why didn't you say anything?" She asked.

"Because I didn't think you wanted me to know, and a part of me didn't want to get my hopes up for things that may not have happened. I didn't want to be disappointed if in ten years we still only had three kids and not four."

"I see," Hermione said in understanding. "So how come you decided to let me know now?"

"Because it's over," he said. "We've passed the point of everything you saw. The future's as uncertain now as it's supposed to be."

"That's a little scary now that I think about it," Hermione said with a light laugh.

"Yeah, but we'll get through it together, like we always do."He kissed her on her temple and then let her head rest on his shoulder. "Thank you for choosing me," he said again as he toyed with her hair.

"I'll always choose you_,"_ Hermione said, knowing it to be true, and she wondered if he knew it too. "Remember my other life?" She asked him.

"The one with the cheating Ron?"

"Yes."

"What about it?" Draco groused, not really caring for a conversation about a life she had where she was married to someone else.

"I never told you what happened after I left him."

"Ah, yes. If I recall you were very vague about the whole end to that life, and I decided to not press for the details."

"Weren't you curious?"

"Of course I was, but if you didn't want to tell me, then so be it. I was satisfied enough with your, 'The next day I packed up mine and the kids things and left,' explanation. Besides, I was more intrigued by your life with me at the time, both in the present and the future. So what happened?"

"Well, the original plan was to get Ron to leave, but when he refused to, I decided I would leave. He didn't like that and so I had to stupefy him so the kids and I could leave. And then I drove off without having anywhere to go."

"Where were the Potters?"

"In Wales for some auror conference."

"What did you end up doing?"

"My daughter had the bright idea to go to your house," Hermione said, giggling at the memory.

"You went to my house?"

"Yeah, you actually had a date over, so it was a little awkward when I first showed up, but she left."

"You really went to my house?" Draco said again, still surprised.

"_Yes_. I was pretty much in love with you in both lives."

"Obviously," Draco said smugly.

"Hey, you're the one who was pining after a married woman. _Homewrecker_," Hermione teased.

"I think Weasley wrecked that home all on his own if you ask me. So what happened after that? Did we…?" Draco wiggled his eyebrows at his implied question.

"_No," _Hermione said, elbowing him for his remark. "_That_ Draco was a gentleman."

"As someone who knows him pretty well, I can guarantee that as much as a gentleman he was being, _that _Draco wanted to rip your clothes off and take you on the floor."

"I can't believe you just said that in front of our baby."

"Like she has any idea what we're talking about," Draco laughed.

"_Anyway,_ that was the last day I was there, so I'm not sure what would've happened after that. But I think it's safe to say you and I would've been together there as well."

"We're just meant to be Granger," Draco grinned. "But thank you for choosing the life with me where we didn't have to wait ten years to make it happen."

"It was clearly the better path," Hermione laughed.

"I'll always choose you too," Draco whispered as he kissed her forehead.

They both looked down at their sleeping daughter, the mark of decisions they had made, and their transition from things they knew, to things that they did not. From there on out they would have nothing to guide them through their coming days. All they had now was the gloriously blank uncertainty of the future.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **And there it is! Thank you to those who have followed this story and decided it was worth reading. I have really appreciated all of your support and feedback as I went about creating it. I hope you enjoyed the journey Hermione took in deciding who to share her life with, and that the ending was worth your while.

Love,

Pink Ranger


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